Fourth Hyundai WRC Car Remains a 2025 Possibility, Confirms Abiteboul

Hyundai Motorsport is still considering entering a fourth car in the World Rally Championship for the 2025 season, according to team principal Cyril Abiteboul. The team has postponed a decision until it feels confident with the performance of its newly updated i20 N Rally1 car.

After a disappointing event in the Canary Islands last month, Hyundai bounced back in Portugal, challenging Toyota with strong speed on gravel. The upgraded car impressed as Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux topped the leaderboards early on.

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Tanak scored 12 stage wins out of 24 across the weekend, finishing second overall. His power steering failure on Saturday likely cost him victory, but he led the event for fifteen stages, leaving the team pleased with the progress. Fourmaux’s performance was also notable despite his failure during the rally.

Hyundai’s top three drivers for the 2025 season are Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak, and Adrien Fourmaux. While those full-time entries are confirmed, the idea of a fourth car remains open, possibly to strengthen Hyundai’s title bid. For more details on the WRC regulations and team structures, you can visit the FIA’s official WRC page.

Toyota, Hyundai’s main rival, has expanded its line-up in 2025 and at some rallies entered five cars. The Japanese team, with drivers like Sebastien Ogier appearing part-time, has taken a 55-point lead in the manufacturers’ standings, with strong performances from Ogier and Tanak.

This puts extra pressure on Hyundai to keep pace in terms of entries and points-scoring opportunities. Former full-timer Dani Sordo has been suggested as a possible candidate for the fourth Hyundai. You can learn more about Dani Sordo’s career and achievements on his Wikipedia page.

He was spotted at Rally Portugal, which also counted for the Portuguese national series where Sordo now competes. He finished second on his last WRC Rally1 appearance at the 2023 Acropolis Rally.

Despite rumors, his name was missing from the entry list for upcoming events, such as Sardinia. Abiteboul explained that running a fourth car would mean more commitment—extra staff, budget, and logistics.

After the unexpected result in the Canary Islands, the team reconsidered whether fielding more cars would deliver the best value. According to Abiteboul, the team will only push for a fourth entry if confident the cars can be competitive immediately.

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He pointed out that entering four uncompetitive cars does not help the bigger picture. Hyundai is still working to fully understand the impact of its technical updates before investing further. For insights into automotive engineering and performance testing, check out resources from SAE International.

The fourth car also offers potential advantages beyond championship points, like collecting more information about the new Hankook tyres in use for the 2025 season. Bringing another car would allow Hyundai more test days, but Abiteboul called it an expensive strategy.

Hyundai is looking at alternative ways to gather tyre data to reach the same level of understanding without the heavy costs of running an additional car. The team’s future plans depend on the results and learning from upcoming events.

Hyundai is monitoring progress with the improved i20 N Rally1, and any expansion will follow only if confidence in consistent competitiveness grows. For now, the possibility of a fourth Hyundai on the grid in 2025 remains on hold as the team considers all its options in pursuit of another championship.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.