M-Sport kicks off the 2026 WRC season with a new look – the Ford Puma Rally1 sports fresh colors and an Irish driver duo – it all starts in Monte Carlo
M-Sport Ford has unveiled the final version of the current Ford Puma Rally1, which the team will use to compete in the 2026 WRC season. The British team has once again opted for a new design: the purple livery with Red Bull branding from 2025 has been replaced by a striking white, green, and blue color scheme.
The impetus for the color change came, among other things, from the expanded collaboration with Motorsport Ireland and its rally academy. This partnership led to an all-Irish driver lineup for 2026: Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong.
McErlean is contesting his second season with M-Sport. The 26-year-old had already had a strong rookie season last year after moving up from WRC2.
He will be joined by 31-year-old Northern Irishman Jon Armstrong, who has moved up to the Rally1 team after finishing runner-up in the 2025 European Rally Championship and winning in Wales and Croatia.
According to insider information, M-Sport’s development program during the winter break focused primarily on vehicle geometry and weight distribution.
“We have a manageable plan, but we probably won’t use all of our homologation jokers,” explained Tim Jackson, chief engineer of the Puma Rally1, at the end of last season.
“However, there are a few things in the area of geometry that should allow us to work on the weight distribution to further optimize the balance. Some of the points we have been working on are not directly related to performance.”
“One of these has been brake cooling in recent years. These components are not subject to homologation in current cars, so it doesn’t appear in the official documentation at all.“
”Brake cooling is not a classic performance factor, but when it works, you can get the most out of your brake package. This ensures that performance remains stable throughout the entire length of a stage.”
“If you can improve things on the car so that the driver can push 100 percent all the time, then you’ve effectively gained performance. But towards the end of a car’s life, every further development becomes increasingly costly and brings less return.”
The team completed its pre-season testing in the south of France last week before things get serious next week at the WRC season opener in Monte Carlo. “Our test went really well,” reports Jackson. “As you know, our driver duo is very young.”
“Jon is new to the team, so the focus was mainly on him settling in, racking up miles, and building confidence that he can then translate into the rally. We’re going into the race with realistic expectations.”
“Monte Carlo is a rally where you can finish well ahead if you deliver a consistently solid performance over the weekend. Let the others push and make mistakes while we build up our rhythm step by step.”
