Rumors that Ott Tänak could make a shock Toyota switch and take Rovanperä's vacated seat in 2026 are wide of the mark according to the man himself
Photography by Hyundai
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
Ott Tänak has ruled himself out of a possible return to Toyota to replace Kalle Rovanperä next season.
Rovanperä announced his retirement from the World Rally Championship on Thursday. Once the shock had died down, attention turned to who might replace the 25-year-old Finn next season.
Estonian star Tänak won his world title at the wheel of a Yaris WRC in 2019, but sees no opportunity to return to the Jyväskylä-based team.
He told DirtFish: “I think, if you look big picture and see the line-up Toyota has, [there has] been no need from their side to look anywhere else. I guess it’s pretty obvious how it will go and [how] the line-up [is] to be.
“They are very, very well covered and I don’t see any discussions on these topics.”
Tänak is joining large swathes of the WRC service park in making the assumption that recently crowned WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg will make a full-time step to the Toyota factory team with which he won Rally Estonia this year.
Words:David Evans
Tags: Kalle Rovanperä, Ott Tanak, Toyota, WRC 2026
Publish Date October 11, 2025 DirtFish 
https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/10/Z5QV130F-2025CANARY_RT_238-780x520.jpg October 11, 2025
Up Next
