M-Sport still negotiating 2023 seats

Craig Breen’s departure from the British-based squad - and his subsequent return to Hyundai - was confirmed last week, but there is no immediate news on the horizon from Millener and M-Sport.

“We’ve got time,” said Millener. “Entries for Monte close on December 16 – that gives us a month to sort things out. I’m confident we’ll have news before then.

“It sounds like a cliché, but genuinely we are talking to everybody about next year. There are still a lot of possibilities. Naturally, we’re talking with Gus [Greensmith] and Pierre-Louis [Loubet] – both those guys had a successful 2022 season with us and we’re interested to continue working with them.”

Millener wouldn’t be drawn on speculation surrounding an Ott Tänak return to M-Sport, beyond admitting that the Estonian’s name was in among the discussions.

“Like I said, we’re talking to everybody,” said Millener. “That includes [Tänak] and Séb [Loeb]. We’re confident we have a competitive car in the Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid and we know what we’ve got coming for next season. 

“Working with Séb was one of the highlights of 2022 – like you can imagine, winning Monte Carlo was an exceptional way to start the new hybrid generation. 

“Let’s see what the next four weeks brings.”