Oliver Solberg Should Do Everything He Can to Race in the WRC in 2023

As rally fans are already aware, Kalle Rovanpera has just become the world's youngest WRC champion, at 22 years old, mind you, beating Colin McRae's record that stood for 27 years. Coincidentally, the late Colin McRae was 27 years old when he became the world's youngest WRC Driver's champion.

Sadly for Oliver, he has no shot at beating Kalle at this achievement, as he is already 21 years old, and he is yet to have a contract to drive in 2023.

To have a shot at beating Kalle at this next year, Oliver would have to get an insurmountable point lead in the WRC Drivers' Championship in 2023 by September 23rd, when his birthday comes up. Unless he finds the best good luck charm in the world, this is not going to happen.

Even if Oliver will not have a shot at becoming the world's youngest WRC driver's champion, it does not mean that he cannot shine in the top tier of rallying. The question now is which team will sign him for 2023, if any. Those with close ties in the service park claim that the young Swede has a shot at getting a ride with M-Sport.

Back in July, M-Sport Ford team principal Richard Millener was on the lookout for a new driver for the team. In his talk with WRC.com, Millener was looking for an established driver to score points and have a shot at winning.

While Oliver has yet to win a WRC event and also being far from a veteran of the sport, he does have vital experience within a top-tier team, as well as the desire to prove himself. Sadly, racers like Daniel Ricciardo have proven that being a veteran, or even a popular one, for that matter, will not grant you a seat for next year.

It did not take long for people to criticize Oliver Solberg once the Hyundai announcement came. After all, he is in twelfth place in the drivers' championship, which is not the best possible position for someone who competed in eight events this year. The driver sharing his car, Dani Sordo – a much more experienced racer, is in ninth place.

Just between them are two Ford M-Sport drivers, Gus Greensmith and Sebastien Loeb. The latter has entered four events and won the season opener, while the former has competed in twelve events this year, all of that has already been disputed, but did not get to a position higher than the fifth place at the end of a rally.

Now, the new class of rally cars, Rally1, has proven challenging for many drivers, but it was an equal starting ground for all who competed in them, as they were new for everyone.

Hyundai has not had its best year, but Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville have managed to get their names high on the drivers' championship boards, gaining valuable points for the Korean automaker, but not enough to win the constructors' title.

Oliver's biggest shot at a seat with M-Sport would not be replacing Greensmith but taking Adrien Fourmaux's place. The 27-year-old French driver had five retirements from competition this season, including three consecutive ones, as well as being withdrawn from the 2022 Acropolis Rally.

While Oliver did have a big crash in Rally Finland's first “real” corner, crashing out in three consecutive events is not what a team boss wants from any driver.

We do not have information regarding Fourmaux's status with the British team, but it may be Oliver's easiest route for a drive in the 2023 season of the WRC.

At the same time, Oliver might be left out of the World Rally Championship, but his dad showed in 2009 that you can enter as a privateer if you have the right backing—it is unclear if this will be possible in the current era of the WRC.

Back in 2008, Petter Solberg found himself without a drive in the next season when Subaru decided to stop competing in the top tier of WRC. It took the Norwegian driver months to secure private backing, but he got to compete in a Citroën Xsara WRC for the Petter Solberg World Rally Team.

Three seasons later, Solberg Sr. was back in a factory WRC car with Ford, and then moved to rallycross for 2013 and became the inaugural winner of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Some wonder if Petter can do it all over again, for his son, this time.

To be fair, Petter Solberg was already a WRC Drivers' Champion since 2003, and he was runner-up twice after Sebastien Loeb for the next two seasons, which is something that his son has yet to match.

However, Oliver has time to achieve things, but it will come down to finding a team that is willing to give him a second chance. As his fans have shown, many people support him, and they do not criticize him for being his father's son but rather celebrate Team Solberg for what it is – a rallying dynasty that may bring a new WRC drivers' champion someday. Others were not so supportive, to say the least.

If Oliver wants to have a shot at beating Kalle in the future, he will have to apply Thierry Neuville's recipe to finishing races to earn points but bring a few wins to the table to become a WRC Drivers' Champion, which is something that Neuville has yet to accomplish. Solberg Jr. has the time, but Neuville's is running out.

Their teammate, Ott Tanak, has a World Champion title to his name, and this can be seen in the Estonian racer's extra points in the championship this year despite having two retirements. Consistency matters, but winning is key, and a WRC champion must bring both to the table. All we can hope for is to see the next big (friendly) rivalry in the sport.