Tänak returned to Hyundai from M-Sport after just a one-year hiatus, with high expectations. However, the Estonian faced surprising challenges throughout the season. It was difficult for Tänak to achieve the consistency required for a World Rally Championship (WRC) title fight, and his trademark blistering speed was only seen sporadically. On top of this, Tänak made several driving errors during the season.
Although Tänak’s season was not as strong as anticipated, he was still in the championship battle until the end. However, a severe crash on the final day of Rally Japan ultimately dashed his hopes, and the championship trophy ended up in the hands of his teammate Thierry Neuville.
Tänak is starting this year from a better position. He has now had a year to reacquaint himself with Hyundai’s methods. Rally engineer Jamie McMillan, who worked with Tänak at M-Sport, believes the 2019 world champion will come back stronger this year.
“Changing teams is always difficult as you try to get your feet under the table as quickly as possible, so going into his second season with Hyundai is going to help with the consistency,” McMillan told the Belfast Telegraph, offering reassurance.
“Looking ahead to 2025, I think Ott is going to be even more motivated now after the season he has had and how 2024 ended. For sure, Ott will be really keen to hit the ground running, especially as he is now firmly back in the swing of things at Hyundai,” McMillan continued.
The WRC will undergo a significant change this upcoming season, as the hybrid units introduced in 2022 will be phased out. This change will not only simplify strategic planning but also make the cars lighter. McMillan believes this will work in Tänak’s favour.
“We’re bringing some quite big upgrades with the ‘Evo’ i20 N with the jokers that are available to the team, so I think that is going to put the car in a better position for Ott,” McMillan stated.
“There are elements we still need to work on, but I’m optimistic and our focus is on next month’s Rallye Monte-Carlo,” McMillan added.
The 2025 WRC season opener, Rally Monte Carlo, will take place from 23rd to 26th January.
