WRC
Can Thierry Neuville bounce back in 2026?
Thierry Neuville is optimistic Hyundai Motorsport’s tireless work through the off-season will lead to a better year in 2026, but just how good remains to be seen.
The 2024 world rally champion endured a difficult title defence in 2025 as Hyundai struggled to extract consistent speed from its heavily upgraded i20 N Rally1 car, most notably on asphalt and on slippery, bumpy road surfaces.
Neuville faced the prospect of ending a season without a victory for the first time since 2015, and becoming the first world champion since Richard Burns in 2002 to complete a title defence without standing on the top step of the podium. However, the Belgian avoided that unwanted statistic by claiming victory at the Rally Saudi Arabia finale six weeks ago.
Since Saudi Arabia, Hyundai has knuckled down in its quest to address the issues it encountered last season. The team has made upgrades to the front end of the car, designed to make the i20 N more predictable and less nervous. A new set of gear ratios has also been homologated to further improve the package for 2026.
Hyundai has also completed 16 days of testing across its Rally1 car and Rally2 programme, with the latter focused purely on improving understanding of the Hankook tyres. The team has also switched its permanent test base from Finland to a new location in France, giving access to both gravel and asphalt roads.
That work has not gone unnoticed by Neuville.
© Hyundai
“I’m looking forward to a better year,” said Neuville ahead of this week’s season opener in Rallye Monte-Carlo.
“There is no doubt the team has been working very hard. There was no break for them and they have impressed us this week with the testing and the organisation, so it has been a massive job. But at the end, performance-wise, we have to find out.
“The motivation is good and it can go one way or the other depending on how strong we are throughout the year. A second year like last year will not help motivation, but a good year will boost the whole team’s motivation.”
As is often the case, the proof of Hyundai’s pre-season work will be measured by the stopwatch once the action begins in Monte Carlo.
While Neuville is confident steps have been made forward, he admits there are still inconsistencies that prevent him from being fully confident behind the wheel.
“Honestly, if I was to say I feel confident, I would be lying a bit. I feel we have made some steps in the areas where we didn’t feel confident enough,” he said.
“Generally, I am still missing a bit of the feeling I used to have to attack in conditions, especially like those here [in Monte Carlo]. Driving fast is OK, but attacking is a different story and I feel it is too inconsistent, too many surprises. I’m sure the car can go fast, but you need to be able to go fast all of the time, everywhere. Therefore, you need a lot of confidence and a good feeling. It is something I was struggling with a bit in testing, but let’s see.
A second year like last year will not help motivation, but a good year will boost the whole team’s motivation.
“I’m optimistic it will be a better year than last year in terms of results and performance, but will it be good enough for me to find the confidence I have had in previous seasons immediately from the start of the season? I don’t know.”
Looking ahead to the title fight, Neuville expects another fiercely competitive season.
“Let’s say the two main championship contenders are still there, which are Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier, so I don’t see any change in the competitiveness of the championship. I also see Adrien Fourmaux being consistently in the fight for a good result this year, and Oliver Solberg will be fast on some events – how many, we don’t know,” he added.
“At the end, winning the championship will be as difficult as before, but being on the podium there might be more opportunities, maybe.”
