Munster spoke to Hyundai at the end of last year when it was looking to replace Ott Tänak, but the squad went elsewhere in selecting Dani Sordo, Esapekka Lappi and Hayden Paddon who competed in Monte Carlo.
He drove for M-Sport Ford full-time in both 2024 and 2025, peaking with two stage wins and five top-five finishes.
The 27-year-old was not retained for 2026, but contested last weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally in Jourdan Serderidis’ privately-owned Ford Puma Rally1.
Power-steering failure on Thursday night, plus two punctures on Friday, hampered his weekend before he was forced out with a mechanical problem ahead of Sunday’s stages.
Munster told DirtFish he is “still discussing” options for the rest of 2026, but pinpointed Hyundai as a core target.
Paddon drove the third Hyundai in Monte Carlo, finishing outside the points in 11th
“I don’t know about Hayden and how many events he signed for. I know that Lappi and Sordo don’t want to drive more than five, and that [Monte Carlo] was the way to tell them [Hyundai] we are motivated,” Munster said.
“And I think if you take it just by the stage times, we’ve beaten Paddon on every opportunity. So that’s what we wanted to show. And without the issue, we would be first Ford as well.
“So OK, we are not as fast as Oliver [Solberg] and [Sébastien] Ogier, but I think we showed some good potential and we could be useful to a team like Hyundai to score manufacturers points.”
Hyundai opted for experience over youth to partner Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux in 2026, as it didn’t see the sense in putting a younger driver into a regulation of car that will be gone by the end of the year.
Munster has fewer WRC starts than all of Hyundai’s part-time drivers, but has more Rally1 starts (30) than Lappi (26), Sordo (15) and Paddon (1).
Asked if he was still chasing the Hyundai seat, Munster said: “For sure. When I hear their third driver saying that he doesn’t enjoy being here in Monte and the condition and so on, well, I would kill for that seat.”
Munster’s main motivation is to have a manufacturer drive in 2027, but knows a good way to stay relevant is to drive in 2026.
“Of course I want to drive,” he added. “That’s the only thing we want to do, we are motivated. We are trying to get a seat, but it’s not easy.
“I want to be there in ’27 – I think I will be a very good candidate as you have, like you said, a lot of experience with Rally1, with Rally1 teams, with the events in the WRC. But you also want to keep driving in ’26 to be on point for ’27.”
While Munster has driven M-Sport-built rally cars since 2023, he confirmed he has no existing contract with M-Sport.
“No, not at all,” he said. “That’s why I want to drive as much as possible, ideally on the rounds of the World Rally Championship. If that’s with a Rally2, if that’s with a Rally1, I will take anything. I just want to show what we are capable of.”
