The 2026 calendar brought several notable structural changes. The Croatia Rally returned to the championship after a one-year absence — during which it competed at European Rally Championship level — with its base relocated to Rijeka and all stages redesigned on a mixed-tarmac format. The Acropolis Rally Greece moved its service park to Loutraki after five years based in Lamia. The Italian Rally and Rally Japan swapped their calendar positions compared to 2025. Two new South American fixtures, Rally del Paraguay and Rally Chile, were added to the schedule.
New sporting regulations mandated a minimum of ten rest hours per event, addressing longstanding criticism over the physical toll of lengthy itineraries. Engine changes became permitted after a rally commences, though each replacement carries a 60-minute time penalty. All Rally1 competitors continued to use Hankook tyres as the championship's sole supplier.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT fielded the series' broadest roster. Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin continued as the lead pairing on a full-season programme. Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston ran a partial schedule. Oliver Solberg, son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, joined for his first full-time Rally1 season alongside co-driver Elliott Edmondson, taking the seat vacated by Kalle Rovanperä, who departed to pursue open-wheel racing in Japan's Super Formula series with Toyota. Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais continued on a selected-events basis. Sami Pajari ran the full season with a second Toyota entry.
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT entered Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe for all rounds. Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria joined on a full-season programme, while a third car was shared between Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo, and Hayden Paddon. Paddon's inclusion was particularly notable: the New Zealander had not competed at the Rally1 tier since Rally Australia 2018, a gap of nearly eight years. His return earned him his first podium since that 2018 event before midseason.
M-Sport Ford WRT ran Ford Puma Rally1 cars for Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy across the full season, Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne at all rounds, Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka at selected events, and Mārtiņš Sesks on a seven-event programme. M-Sport's season opened catastrophically: both nominated crews retired at Monte Carlo, ending a 24-year consecutive points-scoring streak for the team.
Ott Tänak, the 2019 world champion, announced an indefinite withdrawal from competition following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Oliver Solberg claimed victory on debut at the Monte Carlo Rally alongside Edmondson, immediately establishing himself as a championship threat in his first full Rally1 campaign. Evans and Martin responded at Rally Sweden with a dominant performance, with Toyota securing all four top positions for a clean 1-2-3-4 sweep on snow.
Safari Rally Kenya delivered the season's most dramatic twist. All three of Toyota's nominated manufacturer crews retired on Saturday, yet Katsuta and Johnston — running outside the top five at that stage — recovered to take their maiden rally victory. The result temporarily moved Katsuta to the top of the standings. Croatia Rally saw Katsuta and Johnston win again: Thierry Neuville and Wydaeghe crashed out during the Power Stage while contending for victory, handing Katsuta a second consecutive win and pushing him into championship contention. Hayden Paddon finished on the podium at Croatia — his first podium result since Rally Australia 2018.
Rally Islas Canarias went to Ogier and Landais, with Solberg and Edmondson retiring from second place — a costly result for Solberg's title hopes. Hyundai broke Toyota's win sequence at Rally de Portugal, where Neuville and Wydaeghe prevailed on gravel as Solberg suffered a puncture while leading. Rally Japan was Evans and Martin's most complete performance of the season: the Welsh driver and his Scottish co-driver won all twenty stages to extend their championship lead decisively.
Elfyn Evans led the Drivers' Championship with 151 points, twenty clear of Takamoto Katsuta on 131. Oliver Solberg sat third on 102 points, 49 points adrift of Evans. Scott Martin mirrored Evans at the top of the Co-Drivers' standings with 151 points, twenty ahead of Aaron Johnston's 131. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held 370 points against Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT's 277 — a 93-point margin with seven rounds remaining.
Points are distributed to the top ten finishers per rally: 25, 17, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1. Rally winners collect an additional five bonus points accumulated via Sunday stage times, with four, three, two, and one bonus points awarded to second through fifth place on that measure. The five fastest competitors on the designated Power Stage each earn five, four, three, two, and one points respectively. For the Manufacturers' Championship, each team may nominate three crews but only the top two results from 2025-specification Rally1 vehicles count toward the title.
The 2026 season represents a generational transition in the WRC. The absence of Rovanperä and Tänak — two of the championship's most decorated recent performers — opened space for Solberg's full-time arrival and Paddon's comeback, while Katsuta's breakout campaign with two early victories demonstrated that Toyota's depth could produce multiple championship-calibre crews. Entering the season's second half, Evans held a commanding position as he sought to convert consistent performances into the world title he had narrowly missed in prior seasons.