Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais held the Drivers' and Co-drivers' titles, won at the 2025 Rally Saudi Arabia. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT were the defending manufacturers' champions. The most significant pre-season shift was Kalle Rovanperä's departure; after multiple years at the top of the sport, Rovanperä elected to race in the Super Formula Championship and did not rule out a future return to rallying. Oliver Solberg was signed to Toyota on his first full Rally1 contract to replace him. Ott Tänak stepped away from the championship indefinitely.
Fourteen rounds made up the 2026 season. The Croatia Rally came back after a year away from the calendar, replacing the Central European Rally and operating from Rijeka with fresh stage routes on mixed tarmac. The Acropolis Rally's base shifted to Loutraki after five years in Lamia. Rally Japan and the Italian Rally exchanged their usual dates. The Rally di Roma Capitale was formally designated as the replacement for Rally Italia Sardegna starting in 2027.
Two regulatory changes were adopted: a mandatory minimum of 10 rest hours was introduced into each event's schedule, responding to ongoing criticism about excessive itinerary length. Engine changes were permitted after a rally begins, but at a cost of a 60-minute time penalty.
Toyota's full-time lineup included Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston, and Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen. Ogier and Landais selected ten events for their partial programme. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT entered Neuville and Wydaeghe and Fourmaux and Coria for every round, while Lappi, Sordo, and Paddon rotated in a third entry. Paddon's inclusion brought him back to the highest level for the first time since the 2018 Rally Australia. M-Sport fielded McErlean and Treacy as one pairing and promoted Armstrong and Byrne from the European Rally Championship as the second, completing a Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy team. Sesks joined M-Sport for seven rounds. All Rally1 entrants competed on Hankook rubber.
Oliver Solberg won the season opener in Monte Carlo, benefiting from weather that eliminated McErlean and Armstrong's entries and ended M-Sport's 24-year points-scoring run. Evans and Martin led Toyota to a 1–2–3–4 at the following round.
Katsuta and Johnston claimed their first-ever WRC win at the Safari Rally despite being outside the top five at the end of the opening leg; all three Toyota nominated scorers retired during the event. Croatia followed a similar script: Solberg and Evans retired early, and Neuville and Wydaeghe crashed from the lead on the final Power Stage, again leaving Katsuta and Johnston to inherit the win. They led the championship standings for the first time. Paddon claimed a podium in Croatia, his first since 2018.
Sébastien Ogier won the Spanish round. Solberg, running second, crashed two stages from the end. Neuville and Wydaeghe won the Rally de Portugal after Solberg suffered a late puncture. In Japan, Toyota won every stage of the event and Evans took his second victory of the year.
Evans and Martin lead the championship, twenty points ahead of Katsuta and Johnston. Solberg and Edmondson are third, a further twenty-nine points back. In the manufacturers' standings, Toyota leads Hyundai by 93 points.