The key weapon WRC teams are scrambling to secure

It's an exciting time in the World Rally Championship. With the driver market in a state of flux, three top drivers representing three different manufacturers and an impending switch to hybrid power for 2022, there isn't a dull moment in the service park.

Not since Volkswagen's shock withdrawal after Dieselgate in 2016 left Sebastien Ogier out on the kerb has a driver been in such high demand as Ott Tanak is right now - making him the key weapon in the WRC, who could affect the next decade of the championship.

The quiet and unassuming Estonian has experienced the most incredible rise to the top of the WRC, despite being dropped by M-Sport Ford World Rally Team's Malcolm Wilson three times in the process. But for every time he was dropped, Wilson brought him back and it forged an unbreakable bond between Wilson, Tanak and the team.

For 2018, Tanak made the tough call to part with M-Sport and head for Toyota in a bid to beat Ogier - who had joined Wilson's Ford-powered army the year before.

Despite an incredible second half of last year, Tanak fell just short of besting Ogier. But a hat-trick of wins in the second half of the season and 70 stage wins to Ogier's 38 proved that a new Tanak had emerged.

He's carried that form into 2019, and is also having an almost Max Verstappen-like effect on the WRC, bringing out thousands of Estonian and Northern European fans as Red Bull's lead driver has in Formula 1. He's also won five events following his Germany triumph last weekend - more than anyone did in 2018 - with four rallies still to go.

Tanak's future dominated the Rally Germany chatter outside of the stages. A few weeks ago, it seemed his contract renewal with the Toyota Gazoo World Rally Team - run by four-time WRC champion Tommi Makinen - was in the bag, but when asked if he was still talking to Hyundai and M-Sport before Rally Germany Tanak says matter-of-factly: "Yes, exactly. That's the way it works. Of course, we are speaking to everybody.

"My aim is definitely to be in the strongest team for the future. That was actually the same when I joined Toyota two years ago. In 2017, I was in the best team [M-Sport, with Ogier]. We won the manufacturers' championship and also the drivers' championship - which I did not win but my team did. So, I was in a very strong team.

"Now I have joined Toyota and I can obviously say that I am in a strong team again at the moment. On those occasions we definitely made very good decisions, so we need to continue the same way. That is the job for the future."

Regarding speculation that a fresh Toyota deal had been done he adds: "No, that's not true. There is nothing on paper yet and there are still a lot of talks going on. I believe it will still take some time."

Those comments tally with the fact that five-time WRC rally winner Markko Martin had been seen meeting with M-Sport and Hyundai before Rally Germany started. Martin has been a long-term advisor of Tanak's, and the pair are partners together in Markko Martin Motorsport - which regularly deals with Tommi Makinen Racing - while Martin drove for M-Sport in the '00s.

M-Sport very publicly confirmed interest in Tanak earlier in the season, but Hyundai took a much more behind-the-scenes approach - making it very much an outside favourite to sign him as part of a 'super team' alongside its current talisman Thierry Neuville.

Regardless of where Tanak ends up, it's more than just his speed that is making him such a hot property and this is why he could influence the next decade so heavily. The WRC's new era of hybrid power is coming, even if details on the specific rules are not yet forthcoming. At the back end of next year, the teams will want to be heavily into the design phase of their 2022 cars. In early '21, they'll want to have a car up and running.

Rewind four years and you'd be mad to suggest that Tanak would become the WRC's perfect all-rounder

That means Tanak's next contract will likely involve developing a manufacturer's next WRC challenger. We've seen how important a driver can be in that, with clarity of feedback and knowing firstly how a change will affect a car and therefore which changes to make in any given circumstance. Secondly, not wasting time chasing in the wrong direction is key to rally testing. On those points, Tanak is almost as valuable at developing a car as he is as a competition driver.

"Ott is very good at that, his technical understanding is very good, understanding the different areas and how to make everything work together," says Makinen.

"There are other drivers like that, but it's better if you have an experienced driver. One of the most important elements is technically you understand what things mean and how that affects the car. When your knowledge is a high level, you know what you need to do. It makes it far easier. You don't need to guess, if you feel something and you understand it, you know, 'If we do this thing it will have this effect'. Then you can try something else if it is not working."

This is one of the reasons Tanak is so highly prized. Rewind four years and you'd be mad to suggest that he would become the WRC's perfect all-rounder. But he's been able to marry his pace from the past three seasons with consistency and his technical nous. And now he's consistently the fastest driver in the WRC when strapped into the Yaris. He's proved it on a regular basis.

Tanak's pre-existing relationship with Wilson and M-Sport is no secret; it's an almost sacred bond, which is obvious from the Estonian-made Tanak film that was released earlier this year. Wilson knows his team won't have the budget of Toyota when building its next car, so having an efficient driver to develop it with would be a dream come true.

"What we're looking to try and achieve - we still don't know if this is achievable - but the long-term goal is to look at the new car for 2022," says Wilson. "It's important to have the driver in place to lead the team for '22. I know how good Ott is technically because we worked with him for so long, and I know the combination of him and my guys will come up with a car - as we've always developed - [that] is a winning car, basically. I think that's an important aspect. We'd definitely be looking for a three-year commitment."

The big factor with a move to M-Sport is the budget. When Wilson pulled off the rally coup of the century by signing Ogier for 2017, it was with the help of Red Bull, a long-term Ogier backer. Tanak doesn't have that luxury and, while bringing other sponsors in is a possibility for M-Sport, Ford is the key to any deal. Not only for providing cash, but for assuring that the right level of technical support will be there to develop the 2022 car.

"We're looking at all aspects, obviously we can't do the new car for 2022 without Ford as well, [and] there's a big Ford presence [at Rally Germany]," adds Wilson.

"There will be no decisions made [at the weekend], but hopefully we can find a way to keep Ford involved at the highest level.

"For sure [Tanak] isn't going to come if Ford isn't behind the project. I wouldn't expect him to come [without Ford]. Of course, now the level the sport is at, we need that technical support from Ford Performance in the US, as well as some funding. We can't do it as M-Sport on our own. That's why we haven't got Seb [Ogier] and didn't retain Ott - because they have to make the numbers stack up and that's why we're doing what we're doing this year."

That's where you have to feel that for M-Sport the deal to sign Tanak is on a knife edge. For those who know him best, there's no doubt that a championship-winning car is the top priority for Tanak, not cash. He loves the team and believes in the people in it. But as the top driver in the WRC there's going to be a significant salary required, and if Ford didn't return to the WRC full-time for Ogier, it's difficult to see why it would for Tanak.

But, perhaps, a hybrid WRC future will be enough to motivate Ford to return with more backing than a technical alliance. Or maybe it will enter the World Endurance Championship's new hypercar class instead. It's all up in the air.

"I've said before, if I have all the money I'll take all the drivers. I like everyone" Andrea Adamo

And that is exactly where M-Sport doesn't need Ford's commitment to be right now. Tanak wants a deal done, pronto. Can Wilson tie everything together in time to suit Tanak's needs? It's a lottery.

Mind you, not many people expected Wilson to pull off the Ogier deal. And he did. So never rule him out.

The outsider in this debate, Hyundai, has been given a new lease of life by new outspoken team boss Andrea Adamo. He keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to the driver market.

When asked by Autosport about the meeting he and Hyundai's team manager Alain Penasse had with Martin, Adamo says: "The thing that no one has understood is that our hospitality is the one with the best coffee in the service park. So everyone comes to see us.

"Everyone is over-evaluating our chatting. Everyone is abusing our coffee machine. For next year we have already doubled the budget for the machine because we have people queuing outside. Then I understood [the meeting with Martin] it's not for me or Alain, it's for the coffee machine.

"I already said before, if I have all the money I take all the drivers. I like everyone."

For Hyundai fans, you have to hope the team is taking its approach to Tanak more seriously behind the scenes, or it risks facing the prospect of him lifting more trophies than it will next season and beyond with another manufacturer. But at least Hyundai will have nice coffee to keep Adamo awake while watching.

Could Tanak and Martin's very public meetings - Tanak joined Martin in speaking to Wilson in the Rally Germany service park - have been a warning shot, fired at Toyota to meet Tanak's demands? That would tally with the recent story that suggested his Toyota future was confirmed, but that there is still some work to be done on small details that haven't yet been agreed.

After all, Toyota has the biggest budget. And it has one of the championship's best-ever drivers in Makinen at its helm and the team is backed by a manufacturer with one of the most powerful people working in motorsport in Akio Toyoda - who, by the way, loves rallying and has driven the Yaris WRC. So, why on earth would you leave?

Fingers have been pointed at Toyota's reliability, but it has been strong in recent rallies. Rumours of discontent within the team have been raised, but rebuffed by Tanak and while it doesn't look like a family (as it did at M-Sport), it's a new team with new bonds to be forged.

Makinen has been extremely serene about the situation, but it's because he can draw direct parallels between Tanak's career and his own. He's been through this before.

After finishing fifth in the championship in 1995, Makinen went on a spree of four championship wins, forging a dynasty with Mitsubishi in its Lancers and dominating one of the WRC's strongest eras against Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz Sr, Didier Auriol and Juha Kankunen. After his four titles he spent another two years with Mitsubishi, then ended his career with two seasons at Subaru.

"I had a similar situation, many times I remember there were other possibilities [to leave Mitsubishi]," Makinen explains. "I was looking at my own position, it's such an important decision when you decide your next two years, for example. It's such a special time which doesn't last forever. I remember that was important to me. It could make your life more interesting, when you have been somewhere long enough and kept winning. Ott is at the beginning of his career with us. If I'm thinking from a driver's point of view, it would be easy to continue where he is now..."

The final question has to be, is Tanak burning bridges at Toyota by making no secret of his discussions with other teams? It's possible Toyota doesn't like it, but Makinen's aforementioned experience of this situation means he isn't upset.

"Of course, I totally understand," adds Makinen. "I don't care about that. If he wants to do something else, it is his decision and I understand that. If he wants to continue, we can do that and it would be perfect."

Toyota seems the logical decision and is still favourite to retain Tanak. Don't be surprised if a deal is announced in the next couple of weeks. Tanak is on the way to the title, and should have at least six wins already - when his Rally Sardinia last stage heartbreak is added.

But never underestimate the pluckiness of the team from Cumbria. Wilson built a parts business out of the back of a van in the late 1970s and '80s, and its net value was over £40,000,000 as of 2017. Wilson has pulled off this kind of coup before.

His chances of persuading his prodigal son to return are slight, but that's not stopped him before. But a dominant Rally Germany win at the head of a Toyota top-three lockout may have just swayed Tanak in Germany, while M-Sport's up and down year continues.