Speculation has surrounded Solberg since the summer, with his name most strongly associated with M-Sport Ford, though rumours have also suggested he might be heading to Toyota.
Read more: Wild rumour: Is Oliver Solberg heading to Toyota?
The British team M-Sport has yet to announce any driver contracts for next year. This season, French driver Adrien Fourmaux has impressed in the Ford Puma Rally1 car in the WRC’s top class, but his future with M-Sport is uncertain. Strong rumours indicate that he might be on his way to Hyundai as a third driver.
If Fourmaux moves on, M-Sport will need at least one new driver in its line-up, and Solberg is a potential candidate for the role.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener admits that discussions have taken place with Solberg.
“From what we understand, Oliver has options and he needs to decide what he wants to do and where his priorities lie,” Millener said, according to Dirtfish.
Solberg competed in the WRC’s top class with Hyundai in 2022, but since then, he has been racing in the WRC2 category with Škoda. A couple of weeks ago, Solberg mentioned that he has good options in the WRC2 category for next year.
“You’d have to be realistic, he hasn’t been in Rally1 car for two years and it’s not easy to get straight back on the pace of other drivers,” Millener commented.
“Like I said, Oliver has interest in Rally2 and he needs to decide if he wants to be in a Rally1 or a Rally2 car – we’re not interested in having people in the car if they’re not 100% committed to being there,” the team principal emphasised.
Luxembourgish driver Gregoire Munster has been driving M-Sport’s second Ford Puma this season, gaining experience in the top class. According to Millener, the team would like to continue working with Munster.
In other words, it’s more a question of whether Munster can secure funding for a Rally1 programme for the 2025 season.
“Personally, I think he hasn’t done badly. We need to be realistic about expectations – we’ve always said it’s a multi-year process to bring a driver up to the top level, and Greg has only been with us for 12 months,” Millener noted.
