Sebastien Ogier has confirmed he will drive for the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT for the 2024 season.
First To Confirm
Sebastien Ogier is the first of many drivers to confirm their 2024 season plans. With Ogier confirming he will once again be a part-time driver for Toyota next season. The time World Rally Champion has driven part-time for Toyota since the 2022 season. Ogier has proven this season he still has what it takes to compete with the best. As Ogier has won 3 out of the 6 events he’s driven so far this season, and likely would’ve won EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. If it weren’t for a broken suspension arm on the final stage of the third day. Ogier is the first Toyota driver to confirm his plans for next season. As up to this point no other driver for Toyota has a contract for next season. In fact, the only driver at the WRC level with a contract for next season is Thierry Neuville for Hyundai.
In case There Was A Doubt
There were rumours that Ogier may move to Hyundai for next season. However, that isn’t happening. Ogier has even said there wasn’t much to the talks between him and Hyundai. It was more just talking than anything. As Ogier is his own agent meaning he deals with this stuff on his own. For Ogier, sticking with Toyota seems like the right move. As the Yaris Rally1 has proven it can win, and he has a fantastic team backing him. With Hyundai, it’s a lot of uncertainty. The i20 Rally1 is unreliable, and unproven in a lot of cases. Sure Ott Tänak won a couple events in the car last season, but that was a miracle in a half. Thierry Neuville has been decent this season, same with Esapekka Lappi. For Ogier that unknown isn’t something he needs to challenge at this point in his career.
Who Will Join Ogier?
Sebastien Ogier will likely start a domino effect of drivers announcing their 2024 plans. The lineup for Toyota will likely remain the same. Rovanperä seems happy with the Japanese team. So does Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta. For Toyota they have the perfect lineup heading into next season if they can keep the current lineup. Rovanperä is a nearly unstoppable force, and when he’s out Evans steps up. The bigger question heading into the off-season will be, does Toyota find somebody to fill in for the other half of the season when Ogier’s not there? Currently, that’s Takamoto Katstua’s role with the team. Although Katsuta has driven every event this season, he only scores manufacturers’ points at events Ogier isn’t attending. Toyota will likely keep this how it is, but could they bring another driver in to develop and give valuable Rally1 seat time to at events Ogier isn’t at? It’s possible, but unlikely.