ERR's sports portal reports that Spanish publication, Revista Scratch has stated that the 2019 world champion will drive a Ford Puma Rally 1, to be sponsored by Monster energy drinks, for 2023.

It is not clear yet whether the team would be a new, additional team or would be a part of the current M-Sport set-up.

The team would be managed by 2003 world champion, Petter Solberg (Norway) and former WRC driver Ken Block (US) Revista Scratch reports, while Solberg's son, Oliver, who raced for Hyundai this year would also race.

Both Tänak and Solberg are currently without a WRC contract for 2023,

Revista Scratch calls a privateer team operated by Monster the more realistic option, adding the Tänak-owned RedGrey Team would oversee the cars, which would be leased from Ford.

RedGrey, co-owned by former Estonia rally start Markko Märtin, operated Hyundai's' second-tier WRC2 team in the season just ended.

No official confirmation or response has been received in regard to Revista Scratch's speculation.

Tänak announced he would be leaving Hyundai, which he joined in 2019, ahead of the end of the 2022 season, confirming more recently that he would be re-joining neither that team nor Toyota, with whom he won his sole, so far, world championship. This only leaves M-Sport Ford from the three teams competing at the top level.

Tänak finished runner-up in 2022, beating out all of the Toyota drivers apart from overall winner Kalle Rovanperä, despite the Hyundai i20 not always being competitive compared with Toyota Yaris. Media reports also speculated that he had clashed with teammates at Hyundai.

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