The beginning of the Rally1 hybrid era in 2022 brought fresh challenges with the introduction of the i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. After a difficult start to the new regulations, Hyundai steadily developed the car into a race-winning package and finished the season with five victories. The following year proved deeply emotional for the team following the tragic loss of Craig Breen during a pre-event test ahead of Rally Croatia. Breen had returned to Hyundai for the 2023 campaign and immediately demonstrated front-running pace, securing second place at Rally Sweden. Throughout the remainder of the season, Hyundai cars carried Irish colours and the #ForCraig tribute in his memory.

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Despite the tragedy, Hyundai remained firmly in championship contention. Thierry Neuville finished the year as the highest-placed non-Toyota driver, while Esapekka Lappi, Dani Sordo and Teemu Suninen all contributed podium finishes and valuable manufacturers’ points.

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For 2024, Hyundai reunited Neuville and Tänak while adding Andreas Mikkelsen, Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi in rotational roles for the third car. The season delivered one of the defining moments in the manufacturer’s WRC history as Thierry Neuville secured Hyundai’s first ever FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ title after years as a championship contender. Although Hyundai narrowly missed out on the manufacturers’ crown at the final round in Japan, the campaign marked the culmination of more than a decade of sustained progress in the modern WRC era.

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Entering 2025, Hyundai strengthened its line-up further with the arrival of Adrien Fourmaux alongside Neuville and Tänak, continuing the marque’s pursuit of further success with the i20 N Rally1 programme.

Momentum continued to build. Ott Tänak joined the line-up in 2018 and helped Toyota secure the manufacturers’ championship before going on to claim his maiden drivers’ title in 2019. A major leadership change followed at the end of 2020, when Jari-Matti Latvala succeeded Mäkinen as team principal. Under his guidance, Toyota immediately added another manufacturers’ title while Sébastien Ogier secured the eighth world championship of his career.

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The arrival of the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID for the championship’s new hybrid era marked the beginning of another dominant chapter. In 2022, Kalle Rovanperä delivered Toyota both drivers’ and manufacturers’ honours while becoming the youngest world champion in WRC history. The team successfully defended both crowns in 2023, with Rovanperä again leading the charge and Elfyn Evans finishing runner-up in the standings.

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Toyota’s 2024 campaign proved one of its toughest in recent years. With Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta serving as the team’s only full-time drivers, the season developed into an intense title fight with Hyundai. A series of costly setbacks left Toyota trailing heading into the final round at FORUM8 Rally Japan, but victory for Evans, combined with a decisive team performance, secured the manufacturers’ championship in dramatic fashion on the final Wolf Power Stage of the season.

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The Japanese manufacturer carried that momentum into 2025 with a commanding campaign that produced victories in 12 of the championship’s 14 rounds. A full-time return for Kalle Rovanperä and the promotion of Sami Pajari strengthened an already formidable line-up, while the battle for the drivers’ title remained within the team throughout the year. At the deciding round in Saudi Arabia, Sébastien Ogier emerged on top to secure a record-equalling ninth world championship, matching Sébastien Loeb’s long-standing tally.

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For 2026, Toyota enters the final season of the current Rally1 regulations with an expanded five-car programme. While Rovanperä departs for a new chapter in circuit racing, reigning WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg steps up into a full-time Rally1 seat alongside Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari, with Ogier contesting a partial campaign across 10 rounds.