Tänak announced he was taking a break from competing after Rally Japan last month. He more recently confirmed he would not drive at all in WRC in 2026.

Hyundai announced Spanish driver Dani Sordo will be returning to the fold. He will share the drive with Finn Esapekka Lappi and Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon.

"Bringing in Dani, EP and Hayden enables us to call upon their individual strengths to support our manufacturers' title ambitions next year. We had a difficult decision to make – whether to opt for experience and consistency, or bring in a rising star and nurture them. However, we are in the last year of the Rally1 technical regulations and we believe the right path is to bring in drivers with knowledge of the car and the team," Hyundai sporting director Andrew Wheatley said.

2024 world champion Thierry Neuville (Belgium) and French driver Adrien Fourmaux will be staying with Hyundai for next year, the team confirmed.

Paddon will be behind the wheel at the season opener in Monte Carlo in January. Lappi will compete in Rally Sweden. Sordo, who has won two races with Hyundai, is to start from round five in the Canary Islands.

Sordo and Lappi both drove in WRC last year. Paddon last did so in 2022, having more recently competed in the European and Australian championships.

Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja were, towards the end of this season, in with a mathematical chance of a second world championship to add to the one they won in 2019 with Toyota. However, the dominance of the latter team this year put paid to that after Rally Japan, with one more round to go in Saudi Arabia.

Other Estonians who have raced in lower categories of WRC include Georg Linnamäe, Robert Virves and Egon Kaur.

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