Ogier's Toyota move carries the inescapable threat of implosion

There was a moment, just a moment, after Autosport revealed Ott Tanak would be leaving Toyota, when it looked like the team might be facing something of a crisis.

Take Tanak out of a factory Yaris WRC and what did you have left at the team's Puuppola base? Yes, you had two of the fastest rally drivers in the world. But, as this year has shown, you couldn't be sure of seeing both Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke at the finish.

The combination of Latvala, Meeke and Kalle Rovanpera would have been one of the most exciting in years, but would not necessarily have put silverware on the table at the end of the season.

That moment, however, was just that. Within hours of the story going live, it became clear that forces were at work behind the scenes.

Speaking to Sebastien Ogier at the end of what was a deeply miserable, problematic, championship-losing Friday at Rally Spain, he said it wasn't appropriate to talk of such things on such a day.

What he didn't say was that the prospect of a move to Toyota was complete nonsense. Because it wasn't - it was already happening.

From a Toyota perspective, what's not to love? Bring Ogier to the team and you bring one of the strongest, fastest and most experienced drivers in the history of the World Rally Championship. Those six titles didn't win themselves...

There's no doubt the Yaris-Tanak combination has been the quickest in the WRC for the last 18 months. Look at the rallies won, the fastest stage times and the amount of time that he has spent in the lead. Nothing and nobody else has come close.

Slap Ogier's Tricolore on the roof vent and what'll happen? It's never easy for a driver to step into a new car, a new team and a new environment and make it happen from the get go.

Just ask Ogier - he'll be doing that for the third time in four years in Monte Carlo next year. But the previous two debuts didn't go too badly. He won in the French Alps on his debut in a Ford Fiesta WRC and, this year, in the Citroen.

This is Sebastien Ogier. If anybody can fast-track the whole 'get to know you' process, it's him. And if Tanak was fast in a Yaris, Ogier will be fast in a Yaris.

The wider picture is similarly positive for Toyota too. The last time Ogier and Evans worked together they delivered the 2017 manufacturers' title. Yes, yes, Tanak was in there too, but the Ogier-Evans partnership is a strong one that works well and will deliver points.

There was talk for a long time that Rovanpera would run in a fourth car - or even form part of a 'B team' with Takamoto Katsuta - allowing Toyota to take one of the service park's unemployed, but super-experienced drivers such as Hayden Paddon, Craig Breen, Esapekka Lappi or Andreas Mikkelsen. Or even keep Meeke and Latvala on and potentially rotate them in Hyundai's fashion.

Doing that would have put Toyota in a much stronger position than having to rely on a teenager's rookie season at rallying's very highest level.

But that's not the way Tommi Makinen works. He wants his drivers in the car, not on the bench. Longer term, investing in having Rovanpera on every round will undoubtedly pay dividends, but there are costs involved with that learning process and one of those costs could well be next year's manufacturers' title.

On paper, that should be balanced by a second drivers' crown for the team.

But that remains on paper. We've seen, read and heard all manner of rumour, speculation and chatter about life on Planet Toyota. Makinen's reportedly autocratic style isn't for everybody, but he hasn't had to deal with a driver of Ogier's world champion standing yet.

With 2020 set to be Ogier's final shot at a world title, he'll have no time for nonsense. And he'll have nothing to lose in letting the world know it

The last time the pair came close to working together, when Ogier tested the Yaris WRC for the first time in 2016, it's fair to say they didn't really see eye-to-eye. Since then, there's been precious little contact beyond the odd acknowledgment in an airport or a service park salutation.

Certainly, these two haven't been plotting and working together behind the scenes to make this happen for months. This deal came together in the hours and days after Tanak's departure.

There will be a honeymoon period, but if Monte's anything less than perfect, it won't last long. If this year has taught us anything, it's that Ogier's tolerance is waning. Let's face it, like other sportsmen at the very top of their game, he was never known for his patience. Remember 2012? He was bored of that Skoda Fabia S2000 in next to no time.

With 2020 set to be his final shot at a world title, he'll have no time for nonsense. And he'll have nothing to lose in letting the world know about it.

If half of what's been written about the souring of the Tanak-Toyota-Tommi relationship is accurate, then things will have to change for next season.

But let's not forget, Makinen - more than anybody - can empathise with Ogier. He's only two titles short of the Frenchman and knows precisely what a driver needs to succeed. However this one plays out, it's going to be a fascinating storyline to the 2020 season.

Citroen's departure hit the championship hard, but with Tanak versus Neuville to rule Hyundai and, dare we say it, Ogier versus Makinen to rule Toyota, we're going to be in for one heck of a year.