Oliver Solberg has written his name into the history books after holding his nerve through a treacherous final leg to become the youngest-ever winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo in the WRC era.
Co-driven by Britain’s Elliott Edmondson, the 24-year-old Toyota Gazoo Racing driver converted his overnight advantage into a maiden victory in the Principality, surpassing the WRC-era benchmark set by fellow Swede Björn Waldegård in 1970. The result completed a perfect start to the season for Toyota, which locked out the podium on the opening round of the 2026 campaign.
Starting Sunday with a seemingly comfortable minute-plus cushion, Solberg’s march to glory was briefly threatened on the morning’s second test. On the icy hairpins of La Bollène-Vésubie, he was caught out and overshot his GR Yaris Rally1, momentarily facing the wrong way. He recovered quickly, shedding only a handful of seconds before regaining his composure on the Col de Turini Wolf Power Stage.
“I don’t understand it at the moment,” beamed Solberg. “It’s another emotional day. This was the most difficult rally I’ve done in my life. It’s my first rally on Tarmac in the car and here we are, winning the thing. I just want to say a big thank you to Toyota for the trust and the belief. The teamwork has been exceptional.”
Evans holds off Ogier after strong Sunday
Behind Solberg, Elfyn Evans secured second overall, 51.8sec adrift of the winner. The Welshman delivered a clean final day to fend off lingering pressure from Sébastien Ogier and claim more Super Sunday points than any other Rally1 driver.
Ogier, the nine-time WRC champion and 10-time Monte-Carlo winner, ended 1min 10.4sec further back, admitting he had no answer for his team-mates’ pace in the constantly changing conditions.
Adrien Fourmaux was the only driver able to disrupt Toyota’s dominance, bringing his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 home in a measured fourth place after scoring two stage wins during the rally. Team-mate Thierry Neuville endured a frustrating conclusion to a difficult week, with the Belgian’s hopes of salvaging bonus points ended early on Sunday when he clipped a rock and suffered a puncture, consigning him to fifth. (Article continues after the photo.)
Double retirement for M-Sport
Sunday morning brought heartbreak for M-Sport Ford, particularly its Irish contingent. Running a superb sixth on his Rally1 debut, Jon Armstrong saw his result unravel just 700 metres into SS16 when he slid off the road and retired.
To compound matters, Josh McErlean, who had already been off the road on Thursday and Friday, also crashed out on the same stage, while Grégoire Munster retired his Puma Rally1 before the day’s opening test with a mechanical issue.
Armstrong’s exit reshuffled the order behind the leaders. Léo Rossel was promoted to an impressive sixth and secured WRC2 victory, while Takamoto Katsuta climbed to seventh overall having previously been plagued by power steering issues on Friday.
The top 10 was completed by WRC2 podium finishers Roberto Daprà and Arthur Pelamourgues, with Eric Camilli rounding out the leaderboard in tenth.
Super Sunday win for Yohan Rossel and Lancia, Fontana takes two outright WRC stage wins with a Rally3 car
Yohan Rossel claimed an unexpected Super Sunday victory by 22.4 seconds over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. Driving the new Ypsilon HF Integrale Rally2, Rossel started the day well down the order after retiring early in the rally, benefiting from a more favourable road position.
He made full use of that advantage, going on to win Super Sunday outright and secure five WRC championship points on Lancia’s return to rallying.
Another standout performer was Matteo Fontana. The 2025 WRC3 champion, like Rossel, started later on the road and went on to win two stages outright on Sunday with his Ford Fiesta Rally3. It marked the first time a Rally3 car has ever won a WRC stage outright.
Fontana led the Super Sunday standings heading into the Power Stage, but as conditions improved and his road position advantage diminished, his points haul came under threat. Nevertheless, the Italian managed to hold on to fourth place in the Super Sunday classification, securing historic WRC championship points for a Rally3 car.
More Sunday stars: Cherain and Jürgenson
Cédric Cherain also delivered a strong performance. The 2024 Belgian Rally Championship title winner set an outright top-three stage time on Sunday’s opening stage, followed by P11 in SS15, P5 in SS16 and P12 in the Power Stage. Entered as a non-priority driver, the Belgian narrowly missed out on WRC points, finishing eighth in the Super Sunday standings.
Romet Jürgenson, driving a Ford Fiesta Rally2, also just missed out on Super Sunday points, ending the day sixth overall in the classification.
It would be unfair to Rossel, Fontana, Jürgenson, and Cherain to suggest their points haul was solely down to road position. While it was a significant advantage, competing directly against Rally1 machinery in such treacherous conditions, especially with such a substantial power deficit, is almost unprecedented. Furthermore, these drivers were in a class of their own compared to their direct category rivals.
The championship resumes next month at Rally Sweden (12 – 15 February), the season’s only pure winter event, where crews will tackle the frozen forests around Umeå for round two of the 14-round campaign.
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WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026 – Final results
| # | Drivers | Car | Time / Diff to 1st |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Solberg / Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 4:24:59.0 |
| 2. | Evans / Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +51.8 |
| 3. | Ogier / Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +2:02.2 |
| 4. | Fourmaux / Coria | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +5:59.3 |
| 5. | Neuville / Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +10:29.8 |
| 6. | L. Rossel / Mercoiret | Citroën C3 Rally2 | +12:58.4 |
| 7. | Katsuta / Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +13:05.4 |
| 8. | Daprà / Guglielmetti | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +15:07.9 |
| 9. | Pelamourgues / Pouget | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | +18:09.4 |
| 10. | Camilli / De La Haye | Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 | +18:36.4 |
WRC 2026 Drivers’ Championship – Standings after Round 1/14 [Top 10]
| # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Oliver Solberg | 30 |
| 2. | Elfyn Evans | 26 (-4) |
| 3. | Sébastien Ogier | 18 (-12) |
| 4. | Adrien Fourmaux | 17 (-13) |
| 5. | Thierry Neuville | 10 (-20) |
| 6. | Léo Rossel | 8 (-22) |
| 7. | Takamoto Katsuta | 6 (-24) |
| 7. | Yohan Rossel | 6 (-24) |
| 9. | Roberto Daprà | 4 (-26) |
| 10. | Arthur Pelamourgues | 2 (-28) |
| 10. | Matteo Fontana | 2 (-28) |
WRC 2026 Manufacturers’ Championship – Standings after Round 1/14
| # | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT | 59 |
| 2. | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 35 (-24) |
| 3. | M-Sport Ford WRT | 0 (-59) |
| 4. | Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT 2 | 0 (-59) |
Photos, content: Red Bull Content Pool
