Oliver Solberg has etched his name into motorsport history after claiming a sensational, record-breaking victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo, becoming the youngest winner of the iconic event in the FIA World Rally Championship era.
Co-driven by Britain’s Elliott Edmondson, the 24-year-old Toyota Gazoo Racing star kept his composure through a treacherous final leg to convert an overnight lead into his maiden Monte-Carlo triumph. In doing so, Solberg surpassed the long-standing WRC-era benchmark set by fellow Swede Björn Waldegård in 1970 and delivered Toyota a dream start to the 2026 season with a dominant 1-2-3 lockout of the podium.
Starting Sunday with a cushion of over a minute, Solberg’s charge was briefly tested on the icy hairpins of La Bollène-Vésubie. A momentary overshoot left his GR Yaris Rally1 facing the wrong direction, but he recovered swiftly, losing only a handful of seconds before regaining full control on the legendary Col de Turini Wolf Power Stage.
“I don’t understand it at the moment. This was the most difficult rally I’ve done in my life. It’s my first rally on Tarmac in this car, and here we are, winning Monte-Carlo. A big thank you to Toyota for the trust and belief — the teamwork has been exceptional.”
said an emotional Solberg at the finish
Behind him, Elfyn Evans secured second overall, finishing 51.8 seconds adrift after a clean and calculated final day. The Welshman fended off late pressure from Sébastien Ogier and emerged as the top scorer on Super Sunday among the Rally1 drivers.
Ogier, a nine-time WRC champion and ten-time Monte-Carlo winner, completed the Toyota podium in third, 2 minutes 2.2 seconds behind Solberg. The Frenchman admitted he had no answer to his younger teammate’s pace in the constantly changing Alpine conditions.
Adrien Fourmaux was the only driver able to disrupt Toyota’s dominance, guiding his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 to a solid fourth place after claiming two stage wins. Team-mate Thierry Neuville endured a frustrating end to a tough week, with his hopes of salvaging bonus points dashed early on Sunday after clipping a rock and suffering a puncture.
Sunday morning proved heartbreaking for M-Sport Ford, particularly its Irish contingent. Jon Armstrong, running an impressive sixth on his Rally1 debut, slid off the road just 700 metres into SS16 and was forced to retire. Josh McErlean also crashed out on the same stage, while Grégoire Munster failed to start the day due to a mechanical issue with his Puma Rally1.
Armstrong’s retirement reshuffled the order behind the leaders. Léo Rossel was promoted to sixth overall and secured a commanding WRC2 victory, while Takamoto Katsuta climbed to seventh despite earlier power-steering problems. The top ten was completed by WRC2 podium finishers Roberto Daprà and Arthur Pelamourgues, with Eric Camilli rounding out the leaderboard in tenth.
The championship now heads to Rally Sweden from 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 2026 campaign.
Rallye Monte-Carlo – Top 6 Classification:
- Oliver Solberg / Elliott Edmondson (SWE) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – 4h 24m 59.0s
- Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (GBR) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +51.8s
- Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais (FRA) – Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 – +2m 02.2s
- Adrien Fourmaux / Alexandre Coria (FRA) – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – +5m 59.3s
- Thierry Neuville / Martijn Wydaeghe (BEL) – Hyundai i20 N Rally1 – +10m 29.8s
- Léo Rossel / Guillaume Mercoiret (FRA) – Citroën C3 Rally2 – +12m 58.4s
WRC Standings (After Round 1 of 14):
- Oliver Solberg – 30 pts
- Elfyn Evans – 26 pts
- Sébastien Ogier – 18 pts