If we pronounce the name of Cyril Abiteboul, it is extremely likely that many of you remember the period when Alpine, still known as Renault Sport, appointed the French engineer as sporting director in 2014, following his farewell to Caterham. Just Abiteboul remained on the wall until the end of 2020, when Renault decided to rebrand with the name of Alpine. To date, Cyril has become Team Principal of Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship, and this appointment has led to speculation about the possible presence of Hyundai among motorists who, away from the public scene, are considering entering Formula 1.
Talking with Motorsport.comAbiteboul explained the Korean builder's stance: “There are no particular plans. Hyundai is a company with a keen interest in global development, with a new line-up of cars. Motorsport serves to support this business, so you need to understand what the company needs and how the motorsport sector can help in that regard. The rally has been the best solution for the small cars of group A, but it will be necessary to see how this sector will evolve, playing in advance with the strategic choices to keep the rally as a fixed point. That's the priority."
“I don't want to say that Formula 1 is completely discarded, but neither is it evaluated in the near future. If I said that, everyone would write that Hyundai wants to get into Formula 1. As I said, it depends on what the company needs. For now, the rally is what's needed, and the priority is to maintain that approach. We'll change our plans if needed, but for now the strategy is to aim for victory in the World Rally Championship."
Hyundai, therefore, does not seem to directly evaluate an entry in 2026, but it is certain that a development in this sense is not completely discarded.
