Ott Tanak says he “more or less” knows his plans for 2026 as speculation continues to mount around the Hyundai driver's future in the World Rally Championship.
The 2019 world champion has emerged as a key player in this year's silly season, with the Estonian yet to reveal his plans for 2026. Another season at Hyundai is understood to be his only realistic option in Rally1.
Hyundai has made it clear that it wants Tanak to be part of its three-car line up for next year alongside Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux, who are both expected to extend their contracts with the Korean brand.
Tanak has led Hyundai’s charge this year in what has been a dismal season that has led to only one victory from 12 rallies to date, claimed by Tanak in Greece. The 38-year-old is mathematically still in the title hunt, albeit 50 points adrift of championship leader Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, with two rounds remaining.
The 22-time WRC rally winner has remained coy regarding his plans for 2026 amid rumours in the service park suggesting he may not be involved in the WRC next year.
When asked about his 2026 plans at this week’s Rally Japan,” Tanak told Autosport. “I guess we more or less know what we are doing but it is up to the team to decide when the announcement comes.”
Tanak did however comment on the news that Hyundai will expand its technical department for next year as the squad aims to commit more resources to closing the gap to rivals Toyota. The experienced Sebastien Metz and Massimo Carriero will take up newly created operations director and head of engineering roles. The pair have rally experience with Tanak having previously worked with Carriero at M-Sport.
“Massimo, especially I know him from the past. I used to work with him at M-Sport and he is definitely a very switched on guy and definitely someone our team really needs at this moment. I hope the best from that,” Tanak added.
“This year, on gravel actually we have not been too bad. We have always been competitive, but we have just had some failures here and there, but tarmac has been the weak point that we need to iron out and make it work for next year.”
Hyundai: The decision is up to Tanak
Hyundai’s new sporting director Andrew Wheatley says the team is still involved in negotiations regarding its driver line up for 2026, admitting that Tanak’s future with Hyundai is in the driver’s hands.
“We are still in negotiations at the moment, and I think we are getting very close to the end of the year and we need to understand what the situation is, but from my perspective it is not fixed. There is still work to do and we have to understand how we can shortcut that quickly,” Wheatley told Autosport.
Responding to the speculation surrounding Tanak’s future, Wheatley added: “He [Ott] is the one that is the challenge. The other two guys are clearly committed to the programme. Clearly there is still work to do and from our perspective. It is not so much about what we can do as a team, it is more about what Ott has going on in the rest of his life.
“It is hard. When you are travelling from test to rally all the time and you realise that your family is getting bigger it is not easy to do that. These people are driven by the need to win and that is also complicated. It is Ott’s decision and we would love to have him in the team. We think that he is the best person to go and fight with Thierry and Adrien but it is his decision.”
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