Entering a new era or a tough title fight: what can we expect from the upcoming WRC season?

WRC fans are in for a very busy season indeed, for several reasons. For the Royal Rally Class is entering a new hybrid era and not only that, the departure of Sébastien Ogier has left room for several drivers to fight for the title. So what can we expect from the new season?

Yes, there will indeed be plenty to watch. The official launch is set for Saturday, January 15, with drivers and teams getting into action for the first time on January 20 at the season opener in Monte Carlo.

This is what the 2022 World Championship calendar looks like. The final race of the season is expected to be Japan, with one August date still to be confirmed.

Eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier bids farewell to the WRC royal class at the end of the 2021 season. In addition, all those involved are about to jump into a new hybrid era, which could once again change the balance of power between the cars.

Indeed, new regulations have led to Hyundai, Toyota and M-Sport Ford designing and building entirely new cars from the ground up.

The biggest change is the introduction of a 100kW hybrid powertrain with a 1.6-litre turbocharged internal combustion engine, the only key component carried over from the previous generation of cars. This will require drivers to use the hybrid powertrain during every stage.

This is activated by pressing the accelerator pedal and unlocked through energy recovery during braking. The new cars will also have a new steel chassis, which will increase the weight of each car by around 70kg.

At the same time, the new cars will have reduced aerodynamics by up to 15%. In a recent interview with Motorsport, Ott Tänak (driver of the Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT team – ed.) said that he expects a very tough battle for the title and hopes that his team will be the best in terms of power distribution.

It is therefore a big unknown which team can be considered the biggest favourite to win the constructors’ championship. However, it’s a bit more refined among the drivers, even so, we have several aspirants in the driver category.

Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gazoo Racing)

The Welshman has been Sébastien Ogier’s main rival for the previous two years. In 2020, the WRC legend defended his championship lead over Evans by just eight points.

The teammates were no match for each other in the 2021 season, but the gap between first and second place was slightly wider in the end, namely 23 points. However, Evans put in a bravura performance, especially in the last three races of the season.

Ogier, however, managed to defend his 2020 title thanks to several victories. This year, however, we won’t see the French driver in the WRC again, so Evans has a great chance, but the competition is great.

Ott Tänak (Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT)

The Estonian driver already has one championship winner’s trophy in his cabinet. Tänak won the world championship title in 2019 quite convincingly. He dominated six of the thirteen races and defended his championship by a comfortable margin of 36 points. He left Thierry Neuville, Sébastien Ogier and Andreas Mikkelsen behind him.

He was the only one to stand in the way of the French drivers. Not since 2004 has the championship title not been won by a driver of this nationality. In fact, Sébastien Loeb reigned supreme in the WRC from 2004 to 2012, with Ogier taking over as top driver in 2013.

It was only Tänak who managed to break this impressive streak in 2019. Will he be able to repeat his triumph in the coming year? It’s also worth noting that he scored more stage wins than any of his rivals last year, but struggled with major reliability issues.

Thierry Neuville & Kalle Rovanperä (Hyundai Shell Mobis & Toyota Gazoo Racing)

The former has been running at the top for several years now. The Belgian racer finished third overall in 2021 with 176 points, and although he finished the 2020 season as high as #4, he was the second best driver in 2019 with 227 points.

He repeated this position in the following years, and in particular he was regularly just below the top since the 2016 season. It can therefore be expected that he will be one of the most serious title aspirants this year.

Finn Rovanperä could also have a say in this fight. He didn’t fully enter the WRC until 2020, but last year in particular he showed all fans his potential. He finished fourth in the championship and scored 142 points.

Will Rovanperä surprise with his commitment and great talent and make it to the top step? It’s not a likely scenario, but the three riders mentioned above will certainly make life difficult for him with their performances.

So who do you think will win the championship in the upcoming season?

Sources