The first season of the WRC’s hybrid era has defined much of its protagonists in recent days. With the signing of Craig Breen by M-Sport, the scene has been clarified as Hyundai has closed its lineup with the double partial program of Dani Sordo and Oliver Solberg as an addition to Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville. At the same time, Toyota has opted for a similar formula with Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä as full-time drivers and the pairing of Esapekka Lappi and Sébastien Ogier alternating in the team’s third car. M-Sport is thus the only structure that must complete its squad.
There are three names that M-Sport handles when closing its line-up once Craig Breen has signed for two seasons. The first is that of Adrien fourmaux, in theory with everything in his favor to continue in the team with a full-time program. The second is that of Andreas Mikkelsen, current leader of the WRC2 category and with extensive experience in the WRC premier class. And the last one is Sebastien loeb. Nevertheless, everyone could have a place in the team if M-Sport gets the necessary budget to compete with three units of the Ford Puma Rally1 full time.
Negotiations between Sébastien Loeb and M-Sport continue their course And the Frenchman has already expressed his goal to Malcolm Wilson, taking into account his program with Prodrive on the Dakar and his participation in Extreme E. An objective that happens to dispute four rallies with the Ford Puma Rally1, which would put Andreas Mikkelsen in a position to get into the car in the remaining tests. Specifying the dates of these rallies can make a difference, although Loeb wants to be part of the hybrid era of the WRC and M-Sport count on the experience of the French in the development of its ‘Rally1’.