M-Sport's driver line-up for the 2025 World Rally Championship is “completely up in the air” as speculation grows over the long run of current lead driver Adrien Fourmaux.
Team Ford often makes changes to the motive force market at the top of the yr and this season isn’t any exception because it plans to field two Ford Puma Rally1 cars next yr.
The decision to return Fourmaux to the Rally1 program this yr, following the 2023 Rally2 season, has paid dividends, with the Frenchman taking eight top-five finishes, including 4 podiums (Sweden, Kenya, Poland and Finland).
The Frenchman has amassed just six points lower than 2023's Ott Tanak at this stage of the campaign, replacing the 2019 world champion this yr.
Fourmaux's impressive development has made the 29-year-old a precious commodity within the service park, and the 2023 British rally champion has been linked with a move to Hyundai to pilot the Korean brand's third automobile next season.
When asked about his team's plans for 2025, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener maintains that “nothing has been signed with anyone” in the intervening time.
“It's completely up in the air and nothing is signed with anyone, all options are on the table, as usual with M-Sport at this stage of the year,” Millener told Motorsport.com. “We want to have the strongest possible two-car team we can get for next year, and that's a goal we're still working towards.”
Adrien Fourmaux, M-Sport Ford World rally team
Photo: M-Sport
The team desires to agree a brand new contract with Fourmaux and doesn’t resign from continuing to make use of his services. However, if he has to look elsewhere, the squad appears to have a brief list of options to fill the 2 spots.
The team's other full-time driver, Gregoire Munster, delivered arguably his best performance up to now in Rally 1 in Chile, where he ran as high as fourth, setting stage times at the highest of the leaderboard, before ending seventh.
The performance comes after an uneven campaign to this point, which could bode well for his future, although Millener insists the Luxembourger should remain focused on the ultimate two rallies of the season.
“He now needs to concentrate on one rally at a time. He shouldn't think about how he will secure a ride next year,” added Millener. “You just have to give your all in every rally and see what the end of the year brings.”
Another driver that M-Sport is taking note of is Martins Sesks, who took part in three appearances with the team in Rally1. The 25-year-old finished fifth in Poland after which finished on the rostrum in Latvia before a mechanical problem turned heads.
After his last appearance in Chile, Sesks admitted he was unsure where his future lay.
“As he says, he doesn't know what will happen next and I don't know what will happen next, a lot is up in the air, but it was good to give him this opportunity as well, and now we have to see what happens in the next few weeks,” he said Miller.
In addition to those two drivers, Motorsport.com expects WRC2 title contenders Oliver Solberg and Yohan Rossel to be on the team's shortlist of drivers for 2025.
