Expectations were already modest at the start of the year. Of the team’s drivers, only Grégoire Munster had previously completed a full season at the top level of the WRC.
Munster was joined by Josh McErlean, who had no prior experience with Rally1 machinery. This year, Martins Sesks is also competing in selected WRC rounds in the Ford Puma Rally1, having made his top-level debut last season.
The team’s best result of 2025 so far is Munster’s fifth place at the Safari Rally Kenya. But a true breakthrough performance has yet to materialise for M-Sport.
“I think there’s been some good stuff in there,” team principal Richard Millener noted in an interview with RallyJournal.com.
There have certainly been occasional flashes of pace from the Ford drivers on individual stages, but overall, the British outfit has been clearly outpaced by Toyota and Hyundai.
“We said it at the start. I know what I’m saying is correct – maybe not everyone believes it, but it is so hard to operate at this top level. If you do a very quick table of experience on events for our crews versus the others, the differences are huge,” Millener stated bluntly.
As Millener stresses, rallying is a sport where experience counts – and that’s exactly what M-Sport’s drivers lack. The difference in experience was particularly evident at the most recent round in Greece.
“This was Josh’s first time and Martins’ first time at Acropolis – let alone in a Rally1 car. And then you look at others who have won it three or four times, or been here ten times and done ten times as many rallies,” Millener said.
While Toyota and Hyundai both boast multiple world champions in their line-ups, M-Sport is focusing on developing raw talents into future stars.
“We always knew we were going to have a challenge this year. And I think as the title fight hots up, the other teams are pushing harder and harder. You’re gonna end up in a position like we are now. I think it’s kind of what we expected. Now we just have to keep going,” Millener said.
Next up in the WRC are the fast gravel rallies in Estonia and Finland. Millener believes the M-Sport drivers are capable of showing improvement.
“Martins obviously will want to perform well there, but it’s not going to be as easy as that. Greg’s done well on the fast stuff. And Josh – we haven’t really seen him on fast gravel yet, but he was very good in Sweden. We just gotta keep going,” Millener concluded.
