Yeah another manufacturer and 3 of Mikkelsen, Meeke, Latvala, Paddon etc being back in the championship would be ideal.

I dont agree with downplaying this current season in terms of who wins the title though. A title is a title, people say because it's a shorter season it doesn't feel the same but it can be harder to win a title in a shorter season - one bad result/ mistake and you are in trouble. Two bad results and it's nearly game over. You need to be on it in every rally and every stage, and the car needs to hold up too. So far Evans is the only driver to have speed and consistency and not make any real mistakes iirc - Ogier has even lost valuable points and places on powerstages in Sweden and now Italy. That could be costly in such a shorter season.

What does feel lacking for me is Msport and their two Finns. Both have been underwhelming for the most part, the team is not testing due to financial struggles, and car development has been halted. I said going into this year it will be hard to gauge where Lappi and Suninen actually are, because there was no reference for them with an experienced team mate like a Meeke etc. Someone who you know has good speed across most events, and so you can compare against. Makes it even harder to really judge Teemu and Lappi and where they are currently at as drivers.

If I was Malcolm, I'd be doing everything i can to sign up Oliver Solberg for next year..., offer him a long term deal, run him in an R5 car (would also help prove the Fiesta R5 is still competitive), and let Oliver test the WRC car and maybe give him an event of two in the WRC car (on events Greensmith maybe doesn't go to etc).

There's no way Solberg isn't a sound investment for the future considering what he is showing.