The Estonian is still looking for his first win of the season.

Ahead of Sardinia, Tänak, who with co-driver at Hyundai Martin Järveoja has won twice out of the past three occasions, said: "Sardinia is another tough rally. At first it seems smooth and sandy, but the roads quickly get rough," said Tänak. "Suddenly you find sharp rocks and that makes life hard for both the car and the tires. This year there are several new stages and we know there's little grip there."

Hyundai cars have shown notable instability this season in comparison with their Toyota competitors, but according to the Estonian, it all comes down to finding the right setup. "We know that it's not easy to set up our car for this kind of rally, but we've performed well in Sardinia before. Hopefully we've done our homework and can get up to pace from the start," he said.

Last year's win for Tänak in Sardinia was especially dramatic, as veteran driver and eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier suffered a puncture on the final stage and the Estonians edged ahead by just 0.2 seconds.

Tänak and Järveoja had also taken victory back in 2017, with M-Sport Ford.

At the last race in Portugal, Tänak showed excellent pace, winning seven of the first 16 special stages and reaching first place before unfortunately losing power steering on the 17th stage, dropping him to second behind Ogier (Toyota).

The Estonian's car was repaired for Sunday and he managed to get the maximum out of it, however, earning a total of 27 points from the rally, and placing second.

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul said that Portugal had been a step forward for the team. "We started the rally at a strong pace, but reliability issues prevented a better result. Nevertheless, we're heading to Sardinia with strong momentum — this is the second gravel rally in a row and we know how to win here. We need a good team result and I know our crews are ready for it," he said.
In addition to Tänak and Järveoja, two more Estonian pairings are to take part in the Sardinia rally, both in the second-tier WRC2 category, namely Romet Jürgenson and his co-driver Siim Oja (Ford), plus Robert Virves along with Jakko Viilo (Škoda).

WRC Rally Italia Sardegna 2025 takes place next weekend, starting on the afternoon of Thursday, June 5 with the shakedown stage, and finishing as per tradition on Sunday, 8.

Tänak leapfrogged his Hyundai teammate and reigning world champion Thierry Neuville after the Portugal race, and the Estonian currently lies in fourth place in the drivers' table, with 84 points behind a trio of Toyota men: Welshman Elfyn Evans (118 points), hungry for his maiden title, double world champion Kalle Rovanperä (Finland, 88 points) and the wily veteran Sébastien Ogier (86 points).

Tänak was WRC drivers' champion in 2019.

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