His would appear to be one of the most precarious positions in this year’s World Rally Championship.
Year one affords any driver a degree of good grace. Year two demands results.
Josh McErlean need only look across the M-Sport service tent for the proof. Grégoire Munster’s sophomore 2025 season was heavily scrutinized, as he failed to establish himself over his rookie teammate.
This year, McErlean is in the exact reverse situation.
“People are going to expect a lot more in a second year. We’ve seen from last year with Grég a certain amount of criticism that he got, which is not fair at times, but it’s sport, you have to expect it,” he concedes.
But he’s not buying into the logic that 2026 – where he and co-driver Eoin Treacy will steer a Ford Puma Rally1 for the second successive season – is a pressure season.
And again, he can look across at Munster’s 2025 – but this time for inspiration.
McErlean doesn't want to compare himself to his team-mate(s) in 2026
“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure,” McErlean tells DirtFish, “For me personally it’s expectation for myself. It’s one thing you have to learn from last year being with Grég, seeing what other people were saying and what they were doing. That’s why I keep coming back to the term ‘focusing on yourself’, because that’s not going to change anything from your side. They’re not going to change any results [or] stage times. If anything, it’s going to make it worse.
“There were points last season where I’ve seen the comments Grég’s got and it’s not fair because there are events that neither of us had been to and we’d been quicker. It’s one of those things: you get into one of these cars and if you adapt right away, then you can be fast. But if there’s something slightly wrong with your confidence or your approach, it’s going to be upset.
“In M-Sport, or even in any team, if you’re going to have a team-mate that’s got one year more experience than you, it’s not going to make a massive difference in regards to performance or going to a new rally. But you’ve been there and done it; that’s a big thing.”
How prophetic could those words prove to be?
Next season, McErlean will be partnered by Jon Armstrong – a fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy who’s been on the international rallying scene longer, but has never driven a Rally1 car before. He’s started 19 WRC events to McErlean’s 41.
From being the rookie 12 months ago, McErlean’s now the more established and experienced driver in the team.
Perhaps with a lesson banked from 2025, he believes M-Sport’s doesn’t have a team leader.
“Even last year there was no such thing as a number one driver in the team, it’s not treated like that. From the team side, I don’t think it’s so much expected from that side even this year,” he says.
McErlean is aiming to show more speed as well as consistency in 2026, essentially ignoring what’s going on next door.
“I think we have to be more consistent in our times and results. OK, there were some small things that put us out of rallies last year that you can avoid quite easily. However, I think in the WRC now it’s the case that there’s not a lot of crashes which, if you sit there waiting until the end of the rally to get a result, it’s only going to come on occasions,” he points out.
“Even the Safari last year, we finished 10th and we had a lot of problems but still, throughout the rally, you thought you were going to get positions because other people were going to falter. But it actually didn’t come.
“It’s quite a surprising thing. I think it’s because the teams know the cars that well and they’re so reliable. The drivers are obviously on top of their game, so you can’t expect to just sit like a duck and wait for the result to come anymore.
“Of course, there’s going to be rallies where it’s going to be more difficult than others. I still have no doubt that Tarmac is going to be the surface we’re going to have to improve on the most. But I think you can take a lot even from what [Mãrtiņš] Sesks did in Saudi.
McErlean's target is to be more consistent, and show more speed
“Take the emotional side out of that from it being your team-mate in the same car, but it was a proper benchmark and you can learn a lot from his attitude and mentality going to the rally. He was going as if it was the last event of his career; he put everything in to it and obviously it paid off. OK, the end result wasn’t there but a lot of people took a lot of things from his speed.”
McErlean wasn’t able to lick the stamp in that sense last year, as he had 14 rounds to prove himself, not just a handful. The same goes in 2026.
“I’m the first to admit that I was in a very privileged position this year to have 14 rounds,” he admits. “There are many young drivers who come in and only get one shot at it and they have to perform.
“OK, they could do it very well or it could go completely south. And I think if you’re in that corner and you have to put all your eggs in one basket and go at it, there’s a completely different mentality of trying to prove something.
“Knowing that there was a chance of a second season at the start of the year, you didn’t have that ruthlessness or aggression to properly push everything to the maximum. It would have been silly of me to do that and put everything on the line.
“Say you had three rallies and you didn’t finish three of them, the rest of the season could be compromised. It’s two very different mentalities a part-time driver has compared to a full-time driver, like we had last season.
At least these guys know your name now, so it's a bonus!Josh McErlean
“[But] there’s no doubt there’s points this year where you have to have that mentality and properly push on and show the aggression that you need to be at that level.”
The 26-year-old has familiarity on his side at least, as he continues with the same team and co-driver with only Croatia posing a fresh test.
He’s now found his feet at Rally1 level, a stark contrast to this time 12 months ago where he resembled a rabbit caught in the headlights at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally.
How much did he develop as a driver in that debut season?
“A lot,” McErlean responds.
“I think growth is probably the biggest thing from a self-belief side and a media presence as well because you were going to the likes of you guys last year in Monte Carlo and you were getting asked questions and honestly you didn’t know where to look or how to react.
“I always go back to the point of being in the meet-the-crew session in the middle of Casino Square with [Thierry] Neuville, [Sébastien] Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä beside me, and honestly I didn’t know where to look. But for example, if it happens this year, you’ve been there, you’ve done it and I think that’s the biggest thing about WRC – it’s being in that environment for 14 events this season. At least these guys know your name now, so it’s a bonus!
McErlean has found his feet at the top class now - the next step is delivering
“But yeah, I think the season as a whole, you have to focus on yourself, focus on the best job you can do and perform at the best you can because if you start looking around it’s not going to get you any further forward.
“We’ve even seen this at points last year with team-mates and focusing on what they’re doing and how they’re doing it and… yeah, I think it’s not a good direction to go.
“From a benchmark point of view, it’s always a great thing to have. But on the actual performance side, you have to focus on your own ability and improve it as best as possible.
“It’s fantastic to get Eoin on board again with what he’s done last year, and to have such a good team and a great car. It’s a privilege to be a part of it again.”
Whatever McErlean manages to make of that privilege, the only competition – in his eyes at least – is himself.
