Ford should certainly be able to afford part of the cost of developing a WRC27-spec car with M-Sport. The new Cars are considerably cheaper than the Rally1 and sales should be good to privateers....
Behind the scenea of Fiesta Rally2 development https://youtu.be/sFDYXDonZqw?si=cTwo0YES80rXra8r
1 more year, and then it's up to Ford to back the Rally2 entry if there's already Toyota, Prospeed and Lancia; plus others.
No it's not obvious. It makes no sense at all which is why I continued to quiz it. I fully accept you have your position, I just want to understand the reasoning it's based on. With that...

Jurgenson and the team are optimistic about the upgrades for 2026.
Rally2 (ex-R5) News