Hyundai Motorsport and Thierry Neuville announced ahead of Rally Greece that they have extended their partnership for 2025, confirming the Korean brand’s commitment to the WRC for at least one more year.
The confirmation of Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe – in what will be their fifth year together as a crew – alongside Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja at Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team ensures continuity and stability for the Alzenau-based outfit as it looks ahead to a new season.
Neuville has played a fundamental role in building up Hyundai Motorsport’s WRC programme over the past twelve years and has reached numerous milestones with the team in that time. He scored his first career win in Rallye Deutschland in 2014 and has since gone on to amass 20 victories, 59 podiums and 371 stage wins behind the wheel of the team’s WRC challengers.
Having been a crucial element of Hyundai Motorsport’s two FIA WRC manufacturers’ crowns secured in 2019 and 2020, the Belgian is currently on the hunt for his first drivers’ title. Neuville begins Acropolis Rally with a 27-point lead in the standings with just four rounds remaining.
In 2025, Hyundai Motorsport will once again boast one of the strongest and most competitive driver pairings in the WRC. Neuville and Tänak will spearhead the charge as the team once again challenges for all three titles. The line-up plans for the third Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid car will be announced in due course.
Hyundai Motorsport President and Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “We are pleased to confirm Thierry Neuville alongside Ott Tänak for our 2025 FIA World Rally Championship campaign. The decision to maintain this competitive pairing at Hyundai Motorsport underscores our commitment to the series in 2025, where we will once again be targeting all three championship titles. Thierry has been with Hyundai Motorsport since the very start, proving invaluable to the team both on the stages and in the factory over the past 11 years. With him and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe now locked in for next season, we have all of the ingredients needed to continue fighting at the very pinnacle of our sport.”
Thierry Neuville said: “I am very happy to extend my contract with Hyundai Motorsport for the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season. There are not many partnerships in motorsport that have spanned as long as ours, but since 2014 we have achieved great success together. I’ve said before that this team has become a second family to me, and our ambition and motivation has only grown year after year. It would be a great honour to win our first drivers’ title with them at the end of this season, and to carry that forward into a 12th year together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us.”
