The British squad has been forced to reconsider its driver options for next season following confirmation its star signing Tanak has elected to leave the team after one season.
The news comes just days after Tanak scored a convincing win at last weekend’s Rally Chile, his second victory of the season for the team in a campaign littered with misfortune and reliability woes.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener is disappointed to see Tanak depart revealing the team were unable to present an offer to entice the 2019 world champion to stay for 2024.
“Obviously, it is very disappointing to lose Ott, it is such a shame especially after the weekend to show that the car and the team still has pace and is able to win,” Millener told Autosport.
“But unfortunately the mid-part of the season was unfortunate for us and I think not having the ability to fight for the championship is number one priority for Ott, and I think he feels with the new management at Hyundai there is an opportunity to do that and we have to respect his ideas and his decisions.
“As much as it is sad to see him go after only 12 months, it has been fantastic to work with him. We wish him all the best.
“I think he made his decision based on a number of things and obviously it would have taken a lot of time to make sure it is the right decision. But unfortunately, we were not able to make an alternative offer that was able to keep him with us.”
Source: Autosport