2026 was reminiscent of classic editions of Rallye Monte-Carlo, with extreme conditions seen across all 17 stages. Featuring a mix of snow, ice, slush and wet tarmac, often within the same stage, it was a true test of nerves and tyre choice. Despite these challenges, Fourmaux and Neuville were able to maintain their positions, ready to capitalise on any incidents that may have occurred in the podium positions.
French duo Fourmaux and Coria were the leading Hyundai Motorsport crew in Monte-Carlo, securing fourth place. It was a tricky start to the weekend for the duo, who went off the road in low visibility on Thursday’s final stage. Friday arrived and the snow and ice did not yield – but neither did the Frenchmen, as they claimed two top-three stage times. Despite an electrical fault affecting their handbrake in the afternoon, they progressed two places to fourth. A consistent Saturday run – with a small moment on SS12 – ended with a stage win on the streets of Monte-Carlo on SS13. Another stage victory on Sunday’s SS16 generated more positive momentum, and the crew departs the event with 17 championship points.
Meanwhile, Neuville and Wydaeghe initially spearheaded the team’s charge, clinching two top-three stage times on Friday’s SS4 and SS6. The Belgians’ day was going smoothly until they slid into a ditch on the start of the final stage; this mistake caused them to fall from fourth to fifth. Aside from a spin on SS12, the crew demonstrated their consistency on Saturday to maintain that position. Battling slush, black ice and snow, the duo showed dogged determination on the final four tests of the weekend. Although there was a puncture and a spin on Sunday’s SS15, the crew made it to the end of the event in fifth, scoring ten points.
Paddon and Kennard’s goal for Rallye Monte-Carlo was to place themselves in prime position should either of their team-mates hit trouble. The returning New Zealanders were successfully executing this mission across Thursday and Friday’s stages, but their steady charge hit trouble on Saturday’s eventful SS12. The crew spun off the road in a right-hander, and were delayed for several minutes as they extracted themselves from the snow, losing them time. They ended a learning weekend in 11th overall.
Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Fourmaux/Coria finish the weekend in fourth
Claimed two stage wins (SS13, SS16) and four top-three times
Fourmaux said: “Considering where we were on Friday with our electrical issues, I am happy to be finishing fourth overall. With the time gained on each car, I have only one regret, which is the eight tenths against Seb. I’m sure I could have gained eight tenths! The road was evolving so much, which was exactly the same last year. We scored 17 points, which is just one less than Ogier, so that is quite positive. We need to work on our tarmac performance, but I’m confident that on the other surfaces we can continue to improve our results. We saw in Japan last year that we made a big step forward with the car, and I was satisfied until it rained – we were third and doing some good times.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Crew scored four top-three stage times at complex edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo
Battled through tyre damage on Sunday to end event in fifth
Neuville said: “For me personally it was the most difficult Rallye Monte-Carlo I have faced; in terms of conditions we have seen a bit of everything. Across all four days it was icy, but not having the feeling in the car made it so much more difficult than what it could have been. I lost control many times. It wasn’t an enjoyable weekend, and obviously ended in disappointment for us, although we made some improvements over the four days. If the feeling is there and I can get the car working better with the tyres, then we can get much closer than we are at the moment.”
Crew Notes: Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (#20 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Kiwi crew running as high as seventh on Saturday until mistake on SS12
Recovered to successfully complete the event in 11th
Paddon said: “I wouldn’t classify this weekend as a sterling job, but we got to the finish and that was our main objective. I knew it was going to be a big learning process, but the conditions made that a lot harder than what it should have been. It was tough - especially in terms of the conditions, which were 100% tougher than I expected. However, we had some good split times, sometimes we were less than a second away from our team-mates, so there’s a few positives to take away, but we needed to consistently gather more over the weekend.”
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said: “Today was a much more encouraging day of Rallye Monte-Carlo, despite the challenges we had, so we can finish the weekend on a positive note. I think with every kilometre we are learning the strengths and weaknesses that we have on changeable surfaces like these. Adrien did a great job to take some stage wins and finish the day second in the Super Sunday standings in the Rally1 category, which is encouraging. Going forward from here, we know that there is work to do, we will reset and prepare for the full winter conditions for the next round of the championship in three weeks’ time.”
Next rally
FIA WRC returns to snowy passes at Rally Sweden from February 12-15.
Final Classification – Rallye Monte-Carlo
1 O. Solberg E. Edmondson Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:24:59.0
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +51.8
3 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +2:02.2
4 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +5:59.3
5 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 +10:29.8
6 L. Rossel G. Mercoiret Citroën C3 +12:58.4
7 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 +13:05.4
8 R. Daprà L. Guglielmetti Škoda Fabia RS +15:07.9
9 A. Pelamourgues B. Pouget Hyundai i20 N Rally2 +18:09.4
10 E. Camilli T. de la Haye Škoda Fabia RS +18:36.4 ...
Super Sunday Classification – Rallye Monte-Carlo
1 Y. Rossel 1:07:55.0
2 E. Evans +22.4
3 A. Fourmaux +26.3
4 M. Fontana +29.7
5 O. Solberg +29.9
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 1
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 59
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 35
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 0
= Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2 0
2026 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 1
1 O. Solberg 30
2 E. Evans 26
3 S. Ogier 18
4 A. Fourmaux 17
5 T. Neuville 10
6 L. Rossel 8
7 T. Katsuta 6
8 Y. Rossel 6
9 R. Daprà 4
10 A. Pelamourgues 2 ...
All results remain subject to official FIA confirmation.
