Ford is returning to the FIA World Rally Championship as a full factory manufacturer from 2028, reuniting with M-Sport in a partnership that will lead to an all-new WRC car in 2029.
For a team that has carried the Blue Oval through some of its most difficult years, the announcement is as much an emotional homecoming as it is a major commercial commitment.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener made no attempt to hide what the decision means to the Dovenby-based operation.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time, and we are so grateful to Ford Racing for choosing to work with M-Sport again across a full manufacturer-backed team. It has taken a lot of hard work, grit, and determination to get to this point, but I feel very proud to say we have been chosen by Ford again, to take on the FIA World Rally Championship at full pace from 2028 onwards.
“Our goal in this new era is clear, to get back to winning ways and put Ford Racing and M-Sport back on the top step of the podium. A huge thank you goes to the team who have worked so hard to get us to where we are today. Now it’s time to get to work!”
Back where they belong
The reunion extends a relationship that stretches back 30 years. M-Sport chairman Malcolm Wilson said Ford had been central to both his driving career and the business he built, and that the manufacturer’s return felt entirely natural.
“From my early rallying days, Ford has been front and centre of both my racing career and my business. This announcement is such an exciting one, both for M-Sport and for the sport of rallying. Ford is in many ways synonymous with rallying and it feels like they are back where they belong. I’m very proud that, after 30 years together, they have once again chosen M-Sport to be alongside them.”
Wilson’s words capture why this matters beyond the entry list. Ford and M-Sport have been intertwined through the Focus, Fiesta and Puma eras, and M-Sport’s persistence has kept Ford visible in the WRC even when full factory backing was absent.
A staged comeback
Ford’s return follows a carefully structured timeline. In 2027, M-Sport will field an upgraded Ford Fiesta Rally2 fitted with a Rally1 specification kit, giving the brand immediate representation while the WRC transitions towards its next technical era.
From 2028, Ford Racing will return as a full factory-backed WRC team with M-Sport. The following year, an all-new Ford WRC car will make its competitive debut under the FIA’s WRC27 regulations.
| Year | Ford’s WRC programme |
|—|—|
| 2027 | M-Sport runs an upgraded Fiesta Rally2 with Rally1 kit |
| 2028 | Ford Racing returns as a full factory-backed WRC team [1][2] |
| 2029 | All-new Ford WRC car debuts under WRC27 regulations [1][2] |
Heritage with a purpose
Ford’s decision is rooted in more than nostalgia. The company’s WRC history spans more than 50 years, with the Escort, Sierra, Focus, Fiesta and Puma all leaving their mark on the championship.
Ford Racing global director Mark Rushbrook said that heritage was a major reason behind the expanded commitment.
“As we celebrate 125 years of Ford Racing, our 50-year legacy in the WRC stands out as one of our proudest because of its direct connection to the fun and exciting cars that came from that.
“We can’t wait to compete again in rally racing in 2028 and beyond.”
The link between rallying and Ford’s road cars is central to the programme. Ford has indicated that the 2029 WRC car will draw inspiration from an upcoming European passenger vehicle, giving the project a clear product-development rationale rather than treating the WRC purely as a marketing exercise.
Ford reconnects with its motorsport roots
This is Ford returning to one of the disciplines that helped build its global motorsport identity. Rallying gave the Blue Oval some of its most iconic competition cars and connected the brand with enthusiasts in a way few other forms of motorsport can match. Its WRC comeback therefore feels less like an expansion and more like a return to a core part of Ford Racing’s DNA.
The move also completes a strikingly broad global motorsport portfolio. Ford is already involved in Formula 1, competes in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship and is planning a return to the top class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Adding a full factory WRC programme from 2028 places Ford back across endurance racing, rally-raid, Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship.
That breadth matters. It signals that Ford is not simply chasing visibility in one high-profile series, but rebuilding a multi-discipline motorsport presence that spans different technologies, audiences and markets. The WRC gives that strategy authenticity: a championship where production-car relevance, driver skill and engineering durability remain central to the spectacle.
A major boost for the WRC’s new era
For the WRC’s new ownership, Ford’s commitment could hardly be more timely. The championship needs manufacturers with global recognition, long-term intent and a credible reason to develop cars for its next technical generation. Ford provides all three.
The FIA says Ford is the fourth constructor committed to developing a car under the WRC27 regulations, while FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem described the announcement as “another significant moment” for the championship as it prepares for its next generation.
More importantly, Ford’s return gives the WRC a genuine growth story to sell to promoters, broadcasters, sponsors and fans. A manufacturer with Ford’s heritage choosing to invest in a new Rally1 car for 2029 is a statement that the championship’s reset has commercial and sporting substance.
For M-Sport, it provides security, status and a renewed mandate to compete for victories. For the WRC, it is a powerful endorsement of its future. And for fans, it restores one of rallying’s defining names to the front of the grid.
RacerViews verdict
Ford is not simply returning to the WRC — it is reconnecting with one of the global motorsport roots that made the Blue Oval a racing brand in the first place. For the WRC’s new owners, it is a major, meaningful endorsement of the championship’s next era: a global manufacturer with genuine rally heritage, committing to a new car, a full factory programme and a long-term future.
