From winning its first ever World Rally Championship drivers’ title and almost winning the manufacturers’ title in 2024, the wheels came off the Hyundai bus in 2025.
Just two event victories to Toyota’s 12, a 224-point deficit in the makes’ race and its highest driver fourth (76 points adrift) in the championship, Hyundai Motorsport president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul clearly isn’t satisfied.
So what went wrong? And what lessons has Hyundai learned for 2026?
The car trouble
Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1 firmly established itself as the car to beat this year, despite Hyundai’s upgrades to the i20 N Rally1.
Transmission tweaks and a new suspension setup were key areas Hyundai worked on for the ‘Evo’ car, which debuted at the second round in Sweden. The idea was to give the car a wider operating window, and improve performance on fast, smooth gravel rallies.
The reality was somewhat different.
Hyundai's updated i20 didn't always prove a step forward - particularly in Canarias
Hyundai chose not to use the new car in Safari (already a sign for concern even if the logic in going with the tried and tested product made a degree of sense), and then its poor speed at Rally Islas Canarias was alarming.
Eventually, title-chasing Ott Tänak actually reverted to the previous specification of car for the final two Tarmac rallies, CER and Japan, due to the lack of understanding of the revised car.
“The development path of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 was a very large project, and with hindsight you always ask whether the timing was right,” Abiteboul said. “When I joined, the team was being dominated by Toyota, so we decided to go bold.
“The original plan was a completely new car; for various reasons, we delivered a major evolution instead. Last year’s success was almost a bit of a surprise, which showed that in rally, even a small evolution could bring so much. But our Evo car was already well underway, and we remain committed to it.
“The 2025 car brought performance improvements in some areas, but also uncertainty, and the season became a learning curve — understanding behavior, limits and how to extract consistency. It was demanding, but the advantage now is clear: we have a precise view of the weaknesses and a focused plan for the coming year.”
Abiteboul summed the year up as “difficult and challenging”, and said the team “always knew defending our titles would be hard, especially with Toyota reacting as they did with five cars and a very solid package”.
Toyota's five-strong lineup, versus Hyundai's three, gave it more testing days
He added: “On our side, we committed early in 2023 to a radical new car for 2025 compared to last year. That decision brought long-term value, but it also meant a steep learning curve this season. So yes, challenging is the right word — but it was a challenge we accepted when we chose that direction.”
He also praised Fourmaux specifically for helping “us understand the car better, which will matter going into 2026”.
The drivers
Tänak was Hyundai’s best performer in 2025, leading the championship after his home event in Estonia and finishing 23 points ahead of team-mate Thierry Neuville.
But engine failure while leading in Chile really blunted his title tilt, before he eventually elected to walk away from Hyundai and the WRC.
“With Ott, there was a lot of frustration last year,” said Abiteboul. “I think he approached this season very differently, and for a good period of time it was playing out nicely until probably two defining moments.
“The first: the Finland test after his win in Greece, where the car wasn’t where we expected it to be. It was a tough moment for him, but also for the whole team who had already pushed so hard up to this point. The other was the engine issue we had in Chile. Until then, the championship was very much on the cards.
“A lot is in the pipeline that will make the team stronger and the car better in 2026, and I regret that he won’t get to see the benefit of these. However, from a personal perspective, I understand his decision to spend more time with his family.”
Neuville had an average title defense at best, waiting until the 14th and final round in Saudi Arabia to take victory. A heavy crash in CER, a mistake while leading Sardinia and a spate of punctures typified a season that just never kicked into gear.
Abiteboul suggested Neuville’s world title charge in 2024 may have had a knock-on effect this campaign.
“For Thierry it was different,” he said. “Last year took a lot of commitment and dedication from him. The seasons are very long and a lot can change in a short time. As we have seen with Elfyn Evans this year, you can have a great season, lead for most of it, but with road order and cleaning, any buffer you might have built by the summer can melt away like snow in the sun.
“Thierry had to keep fighting until the very end of last year; added to that, there was no break. This year, the accumulation of new tires and a new car meant that the load for Thierry was heavy from the start. Yet he remained professional, rebuilt his energy throughout the year, and didn’t lose his faith in the team.
Neuville's title defense wasn't one to savor
“He challenged us constructively, which is important. And in winning the final rally of the season, we have the perfect dynamic, unlike last year, for a strong 2026 season.”
Fourmaux was a new recruit for 2025, and asked separately about positives from the season as a whole, Abiteboul listed his contribution as one of them.
“Bringing a young driver in is always a question mark, but he showed maturity, professionalism and real potential,” Abiteboul praised.
But Fourmaux’s season wasn’t perfect. Forgetting to tighten his helmet strap while fighting at the front of Rally Sweden eventually led to him trying too hard and beaching his Hyundai in a snowbank, while in Sardinia he suffered a similar moment of head loss to roll at a tight hairpin.
However he worked hard with a sports psychologist to improve his mental state, and emerged far better for it towards the end of the season.
“Every driver has had challenges,” Abiteboul explained. “Adrien adapted well and showed strong speed, but like anyone he also had difficult moments – some in his control, some not. What matters is how he learnt to handle them; being able to keep your mental strength and cope with the situation is what separates people who can win.
“That’s probably one of the huge strengths of someone like Sébastien Ogier. Throughout the season, Adrien has displayed a steep learning curve of mastering his emotions and coming out on top of adverse circumstances.”
The takeaways for 2026
Plainly, Hyundai can’t have a repeat of 2025. The last time it won less than two events in a season was 2015.
Abiteboul, however, is confident of a stronger campaign in 2026 for two key reasons – chiefly a far stabler internal structure that should make its dual commitment to WRC and WEC less of a distraction.
“Running two programs is possible with the right structure and people,” he stated. “What made it harder this season was the uncertainty around our long-term plans for rally and the direction of the sport.
“Once that was resolved, we moved quickly. We put a new yet experienced leadership structure in place, with Andrew Wheatley and FX Demaison fully focused on the success of the WRC program.
“The team is still committed, and with more visibility on regulations and a new promoter, we’re building an organization that can support long-term targets.”
The acquisition of Andrew Wheatley (right) has provided Hyundai with more stability
The other factor is the greater collective understanding of Hyundai’s Evo i20.
Abiteboul: “I believe we’ll arrive stronger in Monte-Carlo. Compared to last year, we’ll be better prepared. The organization is more stable, the leadership structure is in place, and having our base in Fechenheim fully operational removes a major distraction. We can focus on extracting the performance from the cars and the crews.
“Of course it’s always relative to what our competitors are doing. Toyota, and their drivers, will be strong, especially in Monte-Carlo. What gives me confidence is that we have a much better knowledge and understanding of the package, the plan is focused, and there are fewer moving parts than a year ago.
“This year was a reminder that absolute performance is not necessarily the determining factor; it’s more important to have a controlled and well-understood product, and a focused organization. If we keep working this way, we’ll be in a stronger position at the start of next season.”
