WRC Rally Sweden 2026

Rally Sweden – Rally – WRC
Match start: Thursday 12 February at 10.00
Elfyn Evans top 3 (1.85)
Stake: 4/10 units

Three justifications for the game proposal

• Elfyn Evans has two wins and one second place in the last five years in Rally Sweden.
• Only Thierry Neuville has more experience than Evans in this year's Swedish starting grid, which could help Evans in challenging situations.
• No one has been more consistently high up in every rally than Evans over the last three or four years.

Rally fever has reached new heights in Sweden after Oliver Solberg took an impressive victory in the Monte Carlo Rally in the season opener. The victory provided a strong boost, and the public will make a pilgrimage to the Swedish forests in the hope of seeing another victory from the home favorite. The excitement among the Swedish public and media has made even more people open their eyes to the WRC, and expectations for Oliver Solberg in this year's race are higher than ever.

Another driver with high expectations is Elfyn Evans, and he enters Rally Sweden with solid experience from the race. The Welshman has two previous wins (2020 and 2025) and a second place from 2024, confirming that he thrives on snow and ice. He also opened the WRC season strongly with a second place in Rally Monte-Carlo, and with Evans' track record and experience, Evans should have a good chance of finishing on the podium again in Sweden.

Solberg and Evans in attack position

Toyota Gazoo Racing will field five Yaris Rally1 cars, but the biggest expectations are attached to Oliver Solberg and Elfyn Evans this weekend. Solberg is the "home hope", born in Sweden and with his family in place, he is coming straight from the first WRC victory of the year in Monte-Carlo. He is the reigning WRC2 champion and took his first victory in the top class last year (Estonia 2025). Now he is embarking on his first full factory season for Toyota, and he describes coming to his home rally in the World Championship lead as almost unreal.

– Going to my home rally as the World Championship leader is absolutely crazy, I couldn't have dreamed of that. It's a fantastic feeling, but I'm still taking things rally by rally and have a lot to learn in every type of race with this car. Rally Sweden has always been my favorite, the atmosphere is great with friends and family present, and the driving here is perhaps the most fun you can have in a rally car. Starting first on the road in Sweden may not always be the best, but it's still really cool for me. I can only hope for good conditions, do my best and drive as fast as I can, says Solberg.

Evans, for his part, is one of the most experienced in the field and is very comfortable in Sweden. The Welsh driver has won Rally Sweden twice before and showed solid form in the season opener.

Rallye Monte-Carlo was a solid start for us, and as always we aim to fight for victory in Sweden as well. A lot depends on the conditions. If we get really cold and good, icy roads, it should be possible to be in the lead even if we start early on the road, as we did in 2025. But if there is a lot of loose snow that needs to be plowed, it could be more difficult, explains Evans.

He prepared by winning the warm-up race Arctic Lapland Rally last week, which provided valuable practice in similar conditions. Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala also emphasizes that it may be challenging for Solberg to be the first car on the road, but points out that it is entirely possible to win even from that position. Evans proved just that last year.

Hyundai's trefoil chases podiums

Hyundai Motorsport heads to WRC Rally Sweden 2026 with renewed optimism after a challenging start. The team will field three drivers in the Rally1 class, with the ambition being for all to be able to fight for the podium:

Thierry Neuville is the team's lead driver and a veteran of Hyundai. The Belgian won the 2025 season finale and has previously won Rally Sweden back in 2018 as well as five other podium finishes in the last 10 years in the same race. Neuville opened 2026 with a 5th place in Monte-Carlo, a race he expected to be difficult for Hyundai due to unstable asphalt conditions. He sees much brighter prospects in Sweden:

"We know that on gravel and snow we generally feel much more comfortable in the car. We saw in Sweden and Finland last year that we had the pace, and hopefully our testing can make us even faster than last year," says Neuville.

Hyundai recently conducted extensive winter testing in Finnish Lapland to fine-tune the setup ahead of this race.

Esapekka Lappi is a Finnish snow specialist who sensationally won the 2024 Rally Sweden for Hyundai. Lappi is now only driving selected events and is making his comeback in the WRC car in Rally Sweden. He has limited time in the Hyundai i20 Rally1 after a year's absence, but was allowed to test the car on snow in Finland right after driving a warm-up rally in the Rally2 class last week. The question is whether one day of testing with the upgraded Rally1 hybrid and new tires is enough to get up to speed quickly, but Lappi's experience on snow and track record in Sweden (winning in 2024) make him a real outsider.

Adrien Fourmaux is in his second season with Hyundai and impressed with a fourth-place finish in Monte-Carlo. Fourmaux had four podiums in 2025 and is aiming for his first win this year. He has limited experience of Swedish winter roads, but showed good speed on snow and ice during pre-race testing. Fourmaux starts Rally Sweden with solid confidence after matching Neuville’s pace in the opening race, and the team sees him as an important weapon in the fight against Toyota. “The goal this year is to fight for the championship, and to do that we have to collect as many points as possible in every race,” Fourmaux said before the start of the season, which he followed up with a strong race in Monte.

Hyundai's team principal has said they expect to field all three cars in the fight for the podium in Sweden. After Ott Tänak left the team after last year, Hyundai has opted for a wider group of experienced drivers rather than a fresh replacement. Lappi's return for this round means Hyundai has two former Rally Sweden winners on the grid, as well as an in-form Fourmaux. This gives them hope of challenging Toyota, especially if the conditions and starting position play in their favour.

Starting positions and snow conditions

The starting order in WRC Rally Sweden 2026 usually gives some drivers advantages and others disadvantages. In WRC, drivers start in order of the World Championship standings on the first day, so Oliver Solberg will have to go out on the track first on Friday, with Evans in second place.

Hyundai's drivers have somewhat more favorable starting positions, with Fourmaux and Neuville starting third and fourth respectively, while Lappi is likely to start further back as he did not race in Monte and has no points yet. Being the first car on the road in snowy stages is a known disadvantage, as you act as a "snowplough" and clear away loose snow for your competitors. Neuville experienced this in 2024, when he was the first car to lose time on the snowy Friday tests. Conversely, Lappi, Pajari and Katsuta can benefit from starting further back and get a perfect starting point for the next few days.

This year, there are reports of slightly less snow on some sections and slightly lower snow edges than normal, after a relatively mild winter. Nevertheless, winter has hit in full force recently. There is good snow cover in the Umeå area, and the temperatures have crept well below freezing. The weather forecast indicates double-digit minus temperatures throughout the rally weekend, with temperatures down to -20 °C at night. This means hard icy roads, ideal for high speeds as long as the ice layer holds.

Under such conditions, the differences between starting first or sixth are smaller, because everyone gets relatively equal grip. So far, the forecasts indicate dry and stable winter weather without major snowfall during the race itself. This could benefit Solberg and Evans by not having to plow thick fresh snow.

What can we expect?

Based on form and past achievements, the Toyota duo of Solberg and Evans are the clear favorites on paper. The team dominated in Monte Carlo, and both drivers have shown that they can win on Swedish snow. Solberg's local knowledge and enthusiasm may provide an extra motivational boost, but he will have to deal with the pressure of starting first, as well as balanced expectations of delivering in front of his home crowd. Evans has the routine to take advantage of any miss from his competitors, and showed as recently as last year that he can win even from an unfavorable starting position.

Hyundai, on the other hand, has all the prerequisites to fight back in the WRC Rally Sweden 2026. Neuville is looking for revenge after a disappointing season last year and a mediocre start this year. His strong history and stability could quickly make him a candidate for victory if the car works optimally on the snow. Lappi represents a wildcard, he has quickly found his feet in the Rally1 car again, and we know that he thrives on these stages and can surprise positively. Fourmaux will also be exciting to follow, because if he manages to build on his speed from Monte-Carlo, he could get involved in the top fight for the first time on snow.

Summary and tips

Ultimately, weather and road conditions, as well as the starting order, will play a key role in the outcome. I believe the rally will be run on bare ice and hard-packed snow without significant amounts of fresh snow, and we will probably get a fair showdown where the best drivers can fight for victory regardless of starting position. In any case, everything is in place for an even and intensive showdown in the Swedish forests.

Both Toyota and Hyundai have, as always, expressed their ambitions for top positions, and many expect a close duel between Solberg, Evans and Hyundai's challengers. As always in Rally Sweden, small margins, a trip to a snow fund, a tire choice or a change in weather, can be enough to turn the results around. I think Toyota will be the fastest cars in this race as well, and that Evans will drive into the podium.

If you want to bet a few kroner on outsider tips I would consider Takamoto Katsuta top 3 and Oliver Solberg winning the race

You can follow live updates from the race here