Ott Tänak has revealed he first started discussing the idea of leaving the WRC months ago
Photography by Hyundai
Words by Luke Barry & Colin Clark
Ott Tänak has revealed he started talking about a sabbatical from the World Rally Championship before his home event in Estonia, which ran in July.
Tänak announced that he would be stepping away from full-time rallying, and therefore his Hyundai Rally1 drive, in 2026 just hours after the conclusion of Rally Japan three weeks ago.
Talking to DirtFish ahead of Rally Saudi Arabia, the Estonian was open about why he made his decision.
Asked at what point he decided 2025 would be his final year for at least a while, Tänak said: “I guess during summer, end of summer, something like this. So that’s where we were. I guess we started to discuss it probably already before Estonia, Finland. And the idea was to see how the team develops and how we are, how competitive we are.
“Obviously I guess my problem is that I really struggle to just go out for the rallies. I don’t get any satisfaction if I’m not there competing for the win and therefore it seemed difficult [to continue].”
Tänak took the lead of the championship after Estonia, but immediately lost it in Finland. The real turning point was in Chile, when he retired from the lead with engine failure.
This year he’s only been able to win one rally, with Toyota conquering the other 12 prior to Saudi Arabia.
Tänak has not ruled out returning to the WRC, but admitted there isn’t currently a plan to do so.
“To be honest, I think the idea behind is that we just see where the sport goes and how rallying goes and how hungry I am myself, because in this moment I have no plan but I hope there will be some possibilities if they are needed and it’s still quite open at the moment,” he said.
Words:Luke Barry
Publish Date November 26, 2025 DirtFish
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