Silly Season 2026

[trykmann]

Yeah this “not being a team player” is such a BS

And how he treats the team then? Says something bad to them or slaps them or what is it? Would like to know

I've understood most criticism is about his communication. He is there to win and is straightforward about the things he wants or is unhappy about. I don't see it as a bad thing, but a lot of people like to be more diplomatic.

Adamo seems to have a similar approach towards winning, where nothing else is important.

[EstWRC]

Has this been confirmed that it will come on Monday?

It has been so the last three years but the difference this time is that Japan isn’t the last rally.

Makes sense to announce as they all are there

[meh]

At the moment, it seems that Evans is not a favourite guy here because he is too nice, and Tänak is not a favourite guy because he is not nice

But one interesting comment from the last stage end interview (Rally Japan, SS13) that hinted quite a lot - after the usual "nothing to say" part:
Molly asked: do you still like to drive a rally car?
Tänak: yes, but the proper rally car.

We can assume that there is one and only proper rally car for him.

At the moment, I'm already in the state that I would be really-really surprised if Tänak will NOT go to Toyota.

And if he does, then comes the reality as well - is it actually about the car or not? He will lose "the car argument" and need to always deliver. At the same time, we can see that "a newbie" (compared to Tänak) Fourmaux can put the complained car to work as well.

[deephouse]

Does he honestly believe that he will be straight away superior in Toyota (if he will go there). How much time did he need to adopt to Puma or i20?

[Morte66]

Does he honestly believe that he will be straight away superior in Toyota (if he will go there). How much time did he need to adopt to Puma or i20?

The Yaris does seem like a relatively straightforward car that drivers get used to easily. But still, there will be some learning curve.

[trykmann]

The Yaris does seem like a relatively straightforward car that drivers get used to easily. But still, there will be some learning curve.

Oliver talked about Rally Estonia prepartions in the latest WRC podcast . He talked with Ogier about the car setup and his response was, that the car itself is already comfortable to drive, but you can still adjust it a bit.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

More drivers need Fourmaux's attitude...

“I’ll just forget all the complaining now and focus on driving. We’ll use what we have and push.'

[EstWRC]

More drivers need Fourmaux's attitude...

“I’ll just forget all the complaining now and focus on driving. We’ll use what we have and push.'

What this had to do with silly season?

[EstWRC]

The Yaris does seem like a relatively straightforward car that drivers get used to easily. But still, there will be some learning curve.

Exactly, it seems very easy to setup to whoever drives it. Just look at the history, whenever a fast driver jumps in it, he is fast and comfortable with it right away. Oliver is the best sample this year.

And my second assumption is that from Tanaks movie and interviews at that time, I have understood that he and Ogier liked pretty much the same setup and car. And seeing how well Ogier is driving with it then I’m pretty sure that Tänak would also.

Of course this isn’t guaranteed and we will see if we will find it out next year or not.

[focus206]

More drivers need Fourmaux's attitude...

“I’ll just forget all the complaining now and focus on driving. We’ll use what we have and push.'

If you push when driving style and car don't match, you go off. It's not a matter of psychology, it's a matter of Fourmaux's driving style suiting this Hyundai.