The top 10 WRC drivers of 2024

10. Takamoto Katsuta

2024 position: 6^th, 116 points

I thought long over whether to include Taka in this list. It really was a pretty torrid year for the Japanese driver. Handed another full season with Toyota he was dropped in favour of a 22-year-old with only two Rally1 drives under his belt. But he makes this list for how he reacted. Two fourths in the two rallies after he was banished from Chile and a steady haul of points was what was needed, and his points in Central Europe were pretty crucial to pushing Toyota over the edge for the Manufacturers’ Championship. 

He has another chance for 2025, but you wonder just how many “another chances” he will get.

I thought long over whether to include Taka in this list. It really was a pretty torrid year for the Japanese driver. Handed another full season with Toyota he was dropped in favour of a 22-year-old with only two Rally1 drives under his belt. But he makes this list for how he reacted. Two fourths in the two rallies after he was banished from Chile and a steady haul of points was what was needed, and his points in Central Europe were pretty crucial to pushing Toyota over the edge for the Manufacturers’ Championship.

9. Oliver Solberg

2024 position: 2^nd in WRC-2, 123 points

What would have been if it weren’t for Chile? Leading WRC-2, a win enough for the title, it all slipped away as the air seeped from Solberg’s rubber. The protests and nominal time controversy that followed is by-the-by, that was just a bit of last-gasp desperation, Solberg’s title had already gone when his Pirelli failed. 

Falling just a couple of points short is cruel, and it’s harsh that it’s likely Solberg will be passed over for a Rally1 drive yet again. He and Pajari were the clear pick of the WRC-2 field this year. That Pajari win came down to a single result. Hopefully Oliver can pick himself up and go for the title next year.

8. Martins Sesks

2024 position: 15^th, 22 points

Running order this, home advantage that. Doesn’t matter. Martins Sesks’ three appearances in a Rally1 car are already enough to make him a serious contender for a full-time WRC seat. He dragged a non-hybrid car to 5th in Poland, and should have followed that with a podium at home, were it not for a technical issue on the very last stage of his home rally. 

But in those two rallies he racked up nearly half of the points total that full-time M-Sport driver Gregoire Munster managed all season. OK, so Chile didn’t go quite as well. But he’s a young driver, not every rally will be stellar.

7. Elfyn Evans

2024 position: 2^nd, 210 points

Second place ahead of every World Champion that took part is a good return from a season. But there’s no denying that Elfyn Evans could well look back at 2024 and wonder “what if?”. 

In perhaps an inverse to Max Verstappen’s position in Formula 1, Evans had the car that won the Manufacturers’ Championship, and eight of 12 rallies. But something never seemed to click for the Welshman. From the word go he was technically the main contender to Thierry Neuville, but it never felt like that was true. Five seconds, a third and just one retirement showcased consistency, but his team-mates were winning rallies. Four runner-up finishes for Evans now. He’ll be hoping that’s not a theme.

6. Sami Pajari

2024 position: 1^st in WRC2, 126 points (10^th in WRC, 44 points)

What a year for Sami Pajari. The 22-year-old has made rapid progress through the junior ranks, and fully deserves his promotion to the big leagues as the WRC-2 champion. 

The steady run to second in Japan that secured his WRC-2 title showcased a strong head on young shoulders. His trio of appearances in a Rally1 car showed that he will have very little problem with stepping up to the faster car next year. The fact that Toyota was happy to replace its established project driver, Takamoto Katsuta, with Pajari in Chile, showcased how much hope they have for him

5. Sébastien Ogier

2024 position: 4^th, 191 points

Did I curse Sébastien Ogier in 2024? So incredible were the performances of the French legend through the middle of the season (five rallies, three wins, two seconds) that it seemed like if Ogier just did the rest of the year the title was his.

And then something seemed to break inside the 40-year-old. In three rallies in a row Ogier ended up off the road. It was to the cost of his championship hopes, but perhaps more importantly it nearly cost Toyota. Ogier had been called up to guarantee Toyota the Manufacturers’ Crown, in the end they just snatched it. But, there was still some vintage Ogier in there, and while he is very happy to go back to spending more time at home, he’ll still be a rally contender next year.

4. Adrien Fourmaux

2024 position: 5^th, 162 points

The coming of age season for Adrien Foumaux? After a year banished from the top level, Fourmaux was brought back to replace fellow countryman Pierre-Louis Loubet at the end of the 2023 season. He almost instantly stuck the Puma WRC into the trees. But with a full-time contract in his pocket for 2024, Fourmaux was a different beast.

His first WRC win must surely come soon. Fourmaux was a genuine outside contender for the championship for a while, and five podiums in an under-developed M-Sport Puma got enough jaws wagging to put him in with a real shot at a Hyundai seat for next year. Gregoire Munster isn’t the greatest team-mate, but Fourmaux brought home nearly four times as many points.

3. Kalle Rovanperä

2024 position: 7^th, 114 points

To be honest, Kalle Rovenperä’s 2024 season was a little bit terrifying. He only did seven rallies, won four of them, should have won five and combined it with being ludicrously fast in a few circuit races and his first F1 test. 

He was angry after his crash in Portugal, when he rolled out of the lead, and used that to come back and exhibit some of that Kalle dominance we’d become used to. It was only a badly-placed rock in Finland that prevented a hat-trick of wins. Yes he had some favourable running orders, but that didn’t see Takamoto Katsuta winning any rallies. 

He’s back full-time for 2025. And you can bet the rest of the drivers are feeling a little nervous about that.

2. Ott Tänak

2024 position: 3^rd, 200 points

Another “what might have been” season. But for Ott Tänak there’s probably a single nexus point for his thoughts. Leading Rally Japan with the championship leader toiling a little, Tänak wasn’t set for the crown, but he was doing everything he needed to. He was also about to give Hyundai both titles. And then it happened. It was pure cinema for the live TV coverage, which cut back from a slow-mo replay of Tänak getting ready to the Estonian sliding wide mid-stage. For Tänak it was a nightmare.

His i20N was not only down a ditch, but his title chances had blown up. In one moment all the work Tänak did to claw himself into title contention over the second half of 2024 was gone. In reality, it is probably the sluggish start to the year that doomed Tänak’s title charge. But we imagine that moment in Japan will stand out stronger in the mind.

1. Thierry Neuville

2024 position: 1^st, 242 points

Who else could it have been? I criticised Neuville a few times over the last few months for getting a little bit Thierry about things from time to time, but at the end of the season he was World Champion by 32 points, and could have wrapped it up with rallies to spare. 

Winning the Monte set the tone. From then on Neuville was the man with the target on his back. Never being headed in the standings meant he ran first every rally. There were times when that caught him out – there’s a string of middling results across the spring and summer – but he always brought home heavy amounts of Sunday points.

Two wins isn’t an amazing return for a champion. But in a championship that rewards consistency and speed, it was enough. Neuville deserves this one.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.