Review: Round 2 - Rally Sweden

Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team has ended a tough outing at Rally Sweden with Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria in fifth. Esapekka Lappi and Enni Mälkönen followed in sixth place, while Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, who finished seventh, completed the weekend with a formidable performance on the Power Stage.

The cold temperatures and reduced snow was perhaps the main storyline in the 2026 edition, with competitors skating over ice and gravel on the majority of the stages. These testing conditions meant tyre management and car setup were crucial. All three Hyundai Motorsport crews initially struggled on Friday, but the team worked hard to adjust and refine to extract more performance from the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 across the weekend.
 
Frenchmen Fourmaux and Coria struggled on Friday, before making adjustments to their car throughout Saturday that helped them across the afternoon. They were able to close in on the top five on the final day, as well as lock in an additional Super Sunday point to score 11 championship points. Securing nine top-five stage times across the weekend, Fourmaux and Coria were able to demonstrate the progress made with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 in these treacherously cold conditions.
 
Returning to their first WRC event since 2024, Lappi and Mälkönen ended Rally Sweden in an impressive sixth place. The Finns were the leading Hyundai Motorsport crew for the majority of the weekend, only relinquishing it on the penultimate stage on Sunday. Their run across SS12 marked their best performance of the weekend – just 1.1 seconds away from a stage win. The crew secured a solid points haul to contribute towards the team’s championship efforts.
 
Neuville and Wydaeghe’s weekend started on the backfoot after a collision with a snowbank on the opening day, followed by a small delay on stage after their windscreen misted up. However, the Belgians came back fighting, claiming their first stage win on SS7. Sunday gave Neuville/Wydaeghe one final chance in Sweden, and a win on the Power Stage provided some redemption from an otherwise tough weekend.

Crew Notes: Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (#16 Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 

• Fourmaux/Coria climb a place on Sunday, ending the weekend in fifth
• Crew clinched additional Super Sunday point

Fourmaux said: “The rally was beautiful and the conditions were good, but we are not where we wanted to be in terms of results. We are still taking home some points, and I’m in a better position than last year in terms of the championship, so we just need to make sure we are on the pace in the upcoming events. We have done a good job at the first two events, but we need to keep our heads down and improve to make sure that the next two rallies are going to be fast.”

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Enni Mälkönen (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)  

• Finns’ successful return to the WRC stages sees them finish in sixth
• Lappi/Mälkönen secured two top-three stage times in Sweden

Lappi said: “This weekend was probably a bit better than I was expecting in terms of pace against my team-mates, but on the other hand I’m a bit frustrated that we couldn’t be closer to Toyota. I quickly understood that I only need to compare myself to Thierry and Adrien – it’s the only realistic reference that I need, and it went really well throughout the weekend. The conditions on the roads were good and were less of a tyre killer on the second pass, so it was different to what we usually experience here.”
 

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)  

• Disappointment for Belgians as they end the weekend in seventh
• Impressive Power Stage win gives Belgians five points after challenging event

Neuville said: “We need to take all of our courage as a team to work hard and bring us back to where we belong. We are doing a lot, driving a lot, but somehow, we’re not moving in the right direction. I don’t know where the improvements need to be made – I made a lot of changes during the weekend and there was no difference. We basically had limited grip and a lot of understeer. Kenya has never been our strongest event, but we need to go forward and hope for the best.”
 
Hyundai Motorsport WRC Sporting Director Andrew Wheatley said:

This has been a difficult weekend, but what a phenomenal effort from Thierry and Martijn on the final stage to secure some invaluable additional points from this event that will help us go forward. The team dug deep this weekend to try and reverse the difficult start we had here, and that helped us to learn. Going forward, we know that the challenge is not easy, but we are prepared to put in the hard work to bounce back in Kenya.
 

Next rally 

• FIA WRC ventures to the African plains for Safari Rally Kenya, March 12-15.