Ott Tanak opens up on decision to leave WRC

Ott Tanak has expanded on his decision to step away from the World Rally Championship, admitting it is “quite a relief” knowing Rally Saudi Arabia will be his last for the foreseeable future.

The 2019 world champion announced hours after finishing fourth at Rally Japan earlier this month that he plans to take a sabbatical from the WRC next year, forsaking a seat at Hyundai.

In a lengthy statement, Tanak cited wishes to spend more time with his family as one of the key factors behind the move, but revealed that this “isn’t a complete goodbye” and he won’t be cutting ties with rallying completely.

When asked if he had any emotions knowing that this weekend’s 2025 finale in Saudi Arabia will be his last for an indefinite period of time, he said he has “no emotion”.

Tanak has cut a frustrated figure this season, having been unable to consistently take the fight to his Toyota rivals. Ahead of this weekend, Tanak is the only non-Toyota driver to win a WRC 2025 round, as he triumphed in Greece.

When pressed further on his feelings, he said: "It is quite a relief to be honest. [The decision] was made towards the end of the summer and into the autumn.”

Asked if he would miss the WRC, he replied: “Not in the next half a year, for sure.”

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team (Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport)

In the aftermath of the decision, Tanak’s peers have paid tribute to the driver, saying that he will be missed from service park next year and will be a huge loss for the championship. Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta even labelled the 38-year-old his “bigger brother”, such is the bond the pair have formed over the years.

“It is always nice [to read the messages] obviously,” said Tanak. “I have been around for a long time. I guess we know the people in the WRC really well, and we don’t spend any less time with these people than our families. Obviously we know each other very well and normally in rallying you can have good relationships, so that is nice for this sport.”

While Tanak has been clear that he has no ambitions to completely cut ties with rallying, his plans for 2026 remain open regarding any possible drives.

“I would say generally it is all very open. I didn’t want to retire like Sebastien [Ogier] did [in 2021] and do a big show and then come back next year. I guess life will show if we will continue or not,” Tanak added.

Hyundai yet to make decision on Tanak’s replacement

Tanak’s decision has opened up a drive at Hyundai for 2026, with the Korean marque closing in on a solution to complete its driver line-up alongside Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux, who are both expected to continue next year.

Hyundai's sporting director Andrew Wheatley says the team has spoken to several candidates, but a decision is yet to be finalised. It is thought that Hyundai will opt for experience over youth with its choice.

Ott Tanak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1 (Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool)

“We are working very hard and every day there is a discussion and we are hoping that at finish of this event we should be in a position to understand where we go forward. But no decision has been made at the moment,” said Wheatley.

“Hyundai trusts the team to do whatever is necessary for the best performance. From the board’s perspective they put the faith in the team to make the decision to go forward. The challenge is that replacing Ott is not easy. To replace like for like is not possible but we have to look at what we need to get the maximum number of points for next year, and that is the target.

“We have spoken to everybody because it is not an easy decision and because there are so many metrics in place.”