Mid-season review: M-Sport Ford

Returning hero Ott Tänak took a solid victory in Umeå and leads the drivers’ championship by three points over Kalle Rovanperä, who is defending the crown. It felt as if the intervening five years melted away and the Estonian continued in M-Sport from where he left off.

The season opener in Monte-Carlo had been more solid, but that is often the way for a new team driver partnership. Tänak has identified the areas he wants M-Sport and Ford to focus on to get even more performance out of the Puma Rally1 Hybrid, but Ott’s ability to stay consistent in the top six – and second only to former teammate Elfyn Evans in Croatia. has kept him at the sharp end of a title fight.

He is only one point behind the second-placed Evans, although with a reasonable gap to Rovanpera.

Tänak’s hopes are narrowed by the arrival of two rallies where he feels at home, namely the Rally of Estonia and the Secto Rally Finland on the other side of the Baltic Sea.

Tänak’s teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet started his maiden full program this season and has continued to show the kind of pace that will soon bring the Frenchman to the podium he longs for.

Greek driver Jourdan Serderidis has driven a third factory Puma at selected rounds this season, giving fans more Blue Oval action to cheer on.