Hyundai firmed its FIA WRC line-up for 2026 season, as Oliver Goethe stays with MP Motorsport in F2 and Proton confirms no Hypercar entry.
Hyundai Motorsport is pleased to announce its full line-up for the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, calling upon the expertise of five skilled and competitive crews. Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe and Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria will contest every round of the season, set to begin with Rallye Monte-Carlo in January and conclude with Rally Saudi Arabia in November.
Joining them in the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car will be experienced Hyundai Motorsport alumni: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera, Esapekka Lappi/Enni Mälkönen, and Hayden Paddon/John Kennard. Sordo and Carrera enjoyed a strong season in the Portuguese national championship with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, clinching the title in a close finale in October. The Spanish duo have claimed nine FIA WRC podiums together since their partnership began in 2021, including two Hyundai Motorsport podium lock-outs at Acropolis Rally in 2023 and 2024. Sordo and Carrera will begin their 2026 campaign at Rally Islas Canarias.
Lappi will be looking to add to his five podiums with the team as he embarks on his next chapter in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 with 2024 WRC2 co-drivers’ champion, Mälkönen. While the Finnish pair only began competing together at Arctic Lapland Rally in January, they quickly powered their way to success, winning the Finnish Rally Championship. Much like the debut of their partnership, their first WRC event will also be on snow, at February’s Rally Sweden – the scene of Lappi’s long-awaited second WRC victory in 2024.
Paddon and Kennard also make a welcome return, having last competed with the team in 2018 and 2017 respectively. However, the Kiwi duo have continued to represent the Hyundai brand on the stages, winning multiple New Zealand Rally Championships, back-to-back European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024, as well as this year’s Australian Rally Championship crown. During their time at Hyundai Motorsport, the crew claimed a spectacular victory at Rally Argentina in 2016, and three further podiums in Poland (2016), Sweden (2016) and Sardinia (2015); Paddon also scored four podiums with co-driver Seb Marshall. Paddon and Kennard’s first event will be January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: “We’re delighted to confirm our line-up for the 2026 FIA WRC season, which will see Thierry and Adrien compete in every round with a trio of very experienced and competitive crews sharing our third entry. Bringing in Dani, EP and Hayden enables us to call upon their individual strengths to support our manufacturers’ title ambitions next year. We had a difficult decision to make – whether to opt for experience and consistency, or bring in a rising star and nurture them. However, we are in the last year of the Rally1 technical regulations and we believe the right path is to bring in drivers with knowledge of the car and the team.”
Thierry Neuville said: “I’m delighted to continue my rally adventure with Hyundai Motorsport in 2026. The team has become a family to me over the past 12 seasons – I’ve grown as a competitor thanks to sharing so many highs, as well as challenges, together with Hyundai. Despite 2025 being an incredibly difficult year for us, we have built something so strong, and I’m ready to fight for the team in 2026 to get back to where we belong on the stages. I hope we can carry the momentum from Rally Saudi Arabia into next year and achieve good results throughout the season.”
Adrien Fourmaux said: “I’m really happy to be returning to Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team for the 2026 FIA WRC season. We had a strong first year together, with plenty of learnings and progress made throughout the season. Now, our goal is to build on that in 2026, and put ourselves in the fight for the championship titles. It will be another competitive season, and the whole team and I are really motivated – we are confident that we can take a step further in 2026, and I’m excited to see what it holds.”
Dani Sordo said: “After a year away contesting the Portuguese Rally Championship, I am very pleased to be back in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car for 2026. Cándido and I had a strong season in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2, culminating in the Portuguese title, which was a fantastic achievement for us. We can’t wait to take this momentum into next year, and I am confident we will be a competitive package. I’m looking forward to working with the team again, and supporting Thierry and Adrien in the championship fight.”
Esapekka Lappi said: “It’s an honour for me to return to Hyundai Motorsport for the 2026 FIA WRC season. I assumed I was finished with WRC, but after numerous discussions with various people, I knew this was a great idea. I’ve still been competing in the Finnish Championship, which was a lot of fun, but Cyril’s call surprised me and brought me back. I’m as excited as a little boy to get behind the wheel of the Rally1 car again, this time with Enni – which is a wonderful new opportunity for her. My win at Rally Sweden in 2024 serves as a great motivation for our 2026 targets, and I can’t wait to get started!”
Hayden Paddon said: “I’m very excited to be back with Hyundai Motorsport, eight years after our last event together in the FIA WRC. Hyundai is a brand I’m very proud of and loyal to after 12 years, and to now be stepping into a Rally1 car is very exciting. Our expectations are clear: to do the best job we can to support Hyundai, Thierry and Adrien in their respective championships, and making sure we are collecting as many manufacturers’ points as possible at the end of the weekend. I feel I am a very different driver compared to eight years ago, and the experience I have gained all around the world in different championships puts me in a good place to put that experience to use.”
Oliver Goethe –
Oliver Goethe will remain with MP Motorsport for his second season in FIA Formula 2. The 21-year-old member of Motorsport Team Germany, the young talent development project of ADAC Stiftung Sport, stays put with the Dutch team in 2026 after a promising first year in the F1 Grand Prix-supporting championship.
Goethe initially joined MP for the latter part of the 2024 F2 season, with fourth at Lusail as a best result, before embarking on his first full-season campaign in 2025, with two fourth places at Sakhir and Spa again as his best scores while demonstrating his ultimate pace through a pair of fastest laps at Monza and a pole (although penalised later because of an infringement not related to performance) at Lusail. With luck not always on his side on decisive moments, the young German aims to fulfil on his tantalising promise through a second full-season attempt at F2 glory. Goethe’s 2026 team mate will be announced shortly.
“I’m truly delighted to stay with MP Motorsport for my second year in FIA Formula 2”, said Goethe. “Over the years, the team has become a second home away from home for me, and through all the adversity our bond has only grown stronger this year. Now having experienced a full season of F2, my plan is to capitalise on all the knowledge that I’ve gained over the year and build on that with the experienced engineering crew at MP. First I’m aiming to give this season the best possible finish, and then it’s full speed ahead to 2026!”
“We’re all very happy that Ollie has decided to join us for another season in F2”, said Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport’s team principal. “It’s been a true delight working with him, and the fact that we know each other through and through will only be an additional benefit going into 2026. Ollie scored some good points this year, but on several occasions fate agonisingly decided otherwise. Next season’s FIA Formula 2 Championship will be as fiercely competitive as ever, but we will start 2026 prepared to the teeth, with the aim of forcing luck to fall our way.”
Following three exploratory rounds in the 2019 championship, Goethe joined MP Motorsport for the 2020 Spanish Formula 4 Championship before continuing with the team in FRECA in 2021. The following year saw the young German dominantly claim the Euroformula Open title with no less than 11 wins, 7 poles and 12 fastest laps while also making a late-season FIA F3 debut. In 2023, a strong first full season of Formula 3 resulted in eighth place in the final standings, with a win, two podiums, a pole position and a fastest lap as the highlights. Goethe had a shot at the 2024 F3 title until the final round at Monza, thanks to a win, three podiums, two fastest laps and a string of solid points finishes, before ending up seventh after deciding to abort his F3 challenge in favour of his F2 opportunity with MP.
Proton –
Sobering outcome after weeks of negotiations: Despite making every effort to continue the Hypercar programme, Proton Competition will not be entering a Porsche 963 in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026. Following the departure of Porsche Penske Motorsport from the FIA WEC, Christian and Michael Ried’s team have left no stone unturned in their pursuit of campaigning two Porsche 963 in the championship next year. However, it was not possible to reach an agreement with Porsche that would have allowed the cars to be entered privately.
“We would like to thank all of our partners and supporters who have fought so hard over the past few weeks to realise this project,” said team owner Christian Ried. “We gave it everything, but unfortunately it was not possible to find a solution together with Porsche. We feel particularly sorry for Porsche fans, who won’t be able to see a 963 on the grid in the FIA WEC or at Le Mans. Endurance racing has always been a part of Porsche’s DNA, and that was a huge source of motivation as we attempted to reach an agreement with them.”
Proton Competition competed a Porsche 963 in the Hypercar class of the FIA WEC in 2025 and frequently got the better of works competitors. Sporting its retro F.A.T. livery, the car was also an eye-catching presence on the racetrack. “Without partners like Ferdi Porsche and F.A.T., Mustang Sampling and Ken and Brenda Thompson, we would never have been able to get this project up and running – so our thanks go to them,” Ried added. “The ACO and LMEM also supported us right until the very end in our quest to remain in the Hypercar class.”
This decision does not affect any other programmes involving Porsche cars. As before any season, potential entries are being evaluated on an ongoing basis in order to put together the strongest possible programme for Proton Competition.
Here’s Genesis Magma Racing driver pairing in Hypercar: https://motorsport.hyundai.com/media-center/news/2025/articles/endurance/wec/q-a-with-genesis-magma-racing-sporting-director-gabriele-tarquini
[The story is as per press release]
