For Hyundai, the situation is relatively straightforward, as star drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak are confirmed to stay with the team. The question remains on Hyundai’s strategy for the third car: either a dedicated third driver for the full season or, as in recent years, multiple drivers sharing the seat. Rumours in the paddock have linked this season’s breakout driver, Adrien Fourmaux, who has competed with M-Sport Ford this year, with the third driver position on a permanent basis.
Toyota, however, has yet to announce any official contracts. Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala provided some insights to RallyJournal.com during the Central European Rally.
“With Kalle (Rovanperä), the situation for next season is quite clear – he’ll be driving all the rounds. In that sense, I can reassure you,” Latvala stated, addressing both the media and the public.
“For the other drivers, the situation is a bit more open. We’ve started discussions with (Sebastien) Ogier about what he’d like to drive. Most likely, it will be half the season. As for Elfyn (Evans), that situation is also relatively clear.”
It thus seems likely that Evans and Rovanperä will contest the full season, while Ogier’s decision will determine how many events the other driver will share the car with the French champion. It is also unclear whether Toyota will field four Rally1 cars as they did this year.
Sami Pajari is being considered as a partner to share Ogier’s car, though the team’s Japanese driver, Takamoto Katsuta, also needs to fit into the lineup.
“The biggest question marks are that we need to look at Sami’s and Taka’s programmes. These won’t be resolved until after Japan. We need to assess the last two rallies and how they play out,” Latvala explained.
“There’s also the matter of securing the budget for next season, which we’ll know soon. It’s still up in the air whether we can field four drivers. Obviously, we’d like to, but it depends on the budget.”
