Tänak announced after last weekend’s Rally Japan that he is taking a break from his rally career. The Estonian left the door open for a potential return to WRC stages in the future.
Of the current line-up, Thierry Neuville has confirmed he will continue with Hyundai for the 2026 season, while Adrien Fourmaux is highly likely to join as the team’s second full-time driver.
Hyundai’s sporting director Andrew Wheatley said in Japan that the team has already been assessing its options to replace Tänak.
“I think we are very clear about the target for next year, which is to be as competitive as we can. It is the last year of Rally1 and we need to make sure we have the best possible performance,” Wheatley told Motorsport.com.
“When you are looking at the different options, absolutely, you want to bring young drivers into the team because they are full of energy, but we also have to balance that against making sure they are competitive.”
According to Wheatley, Hyundai’s list of candidates is relatively short.
“You are not looking at 20 options, you are looking at a fairly small group and we are in touch with all of them,” he explained.
DirtFish reports that Nikolay Gryazin, who has competed in WRC2 for several seasons, is among the candidates to join Hyundai. Wheatley did not deny the information.
“We’re looking at everybody. Gryazin is on the list, absolutely. I think he’s not the only one. I think we’ve got two pathways we can take, or we can take a hybrid pathway,” Wheatley said.
He added that Hyundai could choose between an experienced driver or a rising talent – or possibly a combination of both.
Among the more experienced names, potential options could include the team’s former drivers Dani Sordo and Andreas Mikkelsen. Wheatley was also presented with the names of Hayden Paddon and Kris Meeke as possible contenders..
“You’ve got to look at what is the option that’s available,” Wheatley concluded.
