Ott Tanak is back in a Toyota, but the 2019 world champion is in no hurry to call it a comeback.
The Estonian, who walked away from full-time World Rally Championship competition at the end of 2025 and has not started a round in 2026, has taken on a development role helping Toyota shape its car for the sport's sweeping 2027 regulations. He completed his first day of running at a test in Croatia.
"I was asked [by the team] quite recently, and it was nice call to take," Tanak said. "It's a nice balance to have my own time and to be driving some rally cars."
He was careful to stress the arrangement is exactly that - a balance, not a route back to the grid. "Honestly, [there's] no plan at the moment," he said. "I obviously have a kind of desire to drive the rally car, but doing these couple of test days after every couple of weeks is much better balance." Asked directly about a competitive 2027 return, he offered only: "Never say never to be honest, but for the moment there is no plan."
The 2027 rules represent the biggest reset the championship has faced in years, and Toyota is acutely aware of the stakes. Tanak, who last drove for the marque in 2019, did not sugar-coat the target. "We know it's going to be a very, very big challenge to beat the Rally2 cars," he said - a nod to fears that the cheaper, closely matched Rally2 machinery could run the new top-flight cars uncomfortably close.
Whether the test work eventually tempts him into a full return is a question Toyota itself cannot yet answer. Technical director Tom Fowler offered a characteristically blunt assessment of the man and the situation. "The best thing about Ott Tanak is that he doesn't tell you any bulls---, and the worst thing about Ott Tanak is that he doesn't tell you any bulls---," Fowler said.
Fowler identified the driver's own appetite as the decisive factor. "I think the first question will be: does Tanak want to compete?" he said. "I guess that will depend on how good job he does on developing the car... he needs to get his skates on!"
Even if Tanak does rediscover the itch, a seat is not guaranteed. Fowler pointed to a crowded roster as a genuine obstacle. "Then we would have to have a slot [for him] into our driver lineup, which is getting more difficult because more of the junior-end drivers have stepped up their game quite a lot already this season."
Beyond the Croatia test, Tanak has also been gathering asphalt data for Toyota at Rally di Roma Capitale, running a demonstration car over the event's stages as the Italian round pushes to join the WRC calendar in 2027. For now, the message from the 2019 champion is consistent: he is happy to develop the car, and content to leave the bigger decision for another day.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/tanak-wont-rule-out-2027-wrc-return-as-toyota-test-role). Visit for full coverage.*