Thierry Neuville’s “clear focus” is to stay with Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship next year.
Of the three current top class competitors, Toyota will build a brand-new WRC27 car next year while M-Sport is developing a Kit for its Fiesta Rally2.
Hyundai meanwhile is updating its i20 N Rally2, but is not expected to develop a Kit meaning it will not be eligible for next year’s constructors’ championship.
Neuville has been with Hyundai since the manufacturer rejoined the WRC in 2014, but doesn’t yet have a confirmed program for 2027.
Project leader for the new constructor outfit, Project RallyOne, Lionel Hansen has told DirtFish it has talked to “more than 20 P1 and P2 drivers” ahead of its WRC debut next year, but Neuville is not one of them who’s interested to drive.
“No,” he told DirtFish. “Today my clear focus is to stay with Hyundai and it’s my priority number one. Also keep Hyundai in the game because the championship needs manufacturers like Hyundai. So hopefully we can start something for next year.
“And yeah, it’s good to see projects like Lionel’s ones but I think that overall the championship needs real manufacturers, people with the budget to support also the new promoters and make the championship great again and therefore you need some money. And I’m not sure the tuners currently have the opportunity to do that.”
Asked what he can do to keep Hyundai in the game, Neuville added: “I have done already a lot over the past years and we are still here, which wasn’t necessarily supposed to be. But now, yeah, for sure it will be different from next year on, that’s for sure.
“For how long I don’t know, but yeah hopefully we can find a good solution for next year to keep a foot in rallying and then I think everything is very wide open.
“Also depending on what a new promoter is able to do and how the championship turns out to be.”
