Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe have claimed their sixth Rally Sweden podium

After 18 treacherous snow stages, Hyundai Motorsport has secured another podium after Thierry Neuville finished this nail-biting edition of Rally Sweden in third place.

Three stages completed the final day of competition in Umeå: two loops of Västervik (SS16/17, 29.35km) and a run of the iconic Umeå (SS18, 8.62km) – the weekend’s Power Stage.

Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe battled across the Swedish snow and redeemed their Friday struggles by claiming a well-earned third-place finish on the final day of the rally. After finding the right rhythm in their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on Saturday, the understeer they had worked so hard to correct returned across the first stage of the morning. This saw the Belgians drop time to team-mate Ott Tänak, leaving just 1.8 seconds between them and the Estonian. After a quick trip to Service, the defending world champions returned to form across the penultimate stage, claiming the second fastest time by 1.5 seconds. A determined run across Umeå meant an additional three points were added to their weekend tally, aiding the Korean teams’ fight for top spot in manufacturers’ standings.

Tänak and Martin Järveoja were left wanting more after a frustrating Saturday plagued them with a coolant reservoir leak. The Estonians returned on the final day to prove they had the pace from the get-go, finishing just 0.9 seconds away from the number one spot on the day’s opening stage. A third-place finish on the second loop of the same stage saw them head into the final test of the day with just a 3.3 second deficit to the podium positions. As was the case for most of the weekend, the top six crews were separated by tiny margins – in this instance only 2.4 seconds across the Power Stage – and the duo narrowly missed out on silverware as they failed to close the gap to their closest competitors. They leave Sweden securing a fourth-place finish and third in the Super Sunday standings.

After an early retirement on Saturday, Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria returned to the stages on Sunday with one thing in mind: maximising their Power Stage points. With an undesirable road position on the first two stages, the French duo made a reserved charge across the snow to ensure their car would make it back to the Red Barn Arena with the best tyres possible. A push in front of the fans saw the crew claim a solitary Power Stage point after a demanding second weekend with the team.

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#1 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• Defending world champions claim their first podium of 2025
• Third-place finish is their sixth podium at Swedish event

Neuville said: “We are happy to be on the podium, but nevertheless we are disappointed that we weren’t able to score the big points. We were still struggling today with the balance and tyre degradation. The feeling wasn’t there 100% even though we were improving, and it seems it has been better for our competitors than for us. Our first event in the upgraded car felt good, overall the performance was there. It’s hard to really analyse everything as we saw the variation based on road position was crazy this weekend. You could be in the middle of the group and have the best conditions at some points or have the worst. We were in the game this weekend and that’s what counts.”

Crew Notes: Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (#8 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)

• Estonians consolidated a fourth-place finish after frustrating weekend
• Crew claim nine stage top-threes and one stage win over three days

Tänak said: “Friday was not the greatest day but we were still very much fighting for the victory. On Saturday, we lost some time driving in a safer mode through the stages. This morning we tried to catch the leaders, but on the second loop the road conditions were still cleaning so much. I’m not sure we got the best out of the new car this weekend, but I would say when the car is working it’s nice to drive and we just have to put the package together now. Toyota has been very strong, they are doing a good job and it’s something we need to catch up with.”

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

• French crew claim Power Stage point after early retirement on Saturday
• Duo look to return back on form at Safari Rally Kenya

Fourmaux said: “We have been competitive all weekend so I would say the positive thing is we have the pace, but we need to avoid the mistakes and go from there. I am happy we could score at least one point in the Power Stage; it’s the bare minimum but it’s something so we didn’t come back with nothing. We are focused on the future – there are still12 events and a lot to be done, so I will keep my head on my shoulders. Yesterday’s mistake will not happen again. Kenya is next and anything can happen, so I will be working a lot with the team to make it successful.”

Next rally

• Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team will return to the FIA WRC stages at Safari Rally Kenya (March 21-23), round three of the 2025 season.