The 2025 world championship was only settled on the very last day of the season. Ogier, who skipped three events this year, clinched the title by four points over his Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.
The decisive moment came on Saturday’s middle stage, which delivered dramatic scenes. As several drivers hit problems, Ogier gained three places on the overall leaderboard and moved up to third.
In addition, Ogier delivered exactly what he needed in the overall classification for Super Saturday. He topped the final day and collected four more points from the Power Stage that ended the season. With that, he sealed a historic ninth world title – drawing level with fellow Frenchman Sébastien Loeb.
Kalle Rovanperä ultimately had to settle for third place in the championship. The Finnish star, who ended his WRC career this weekend, still had a theoretical chance of the title heading into the season finale – but the rally turned out to be a difficult one for him. Rovanperä finished seventh in Saudi Arabia.
Ott Tänak, who also said farewell – at least for now – to special stages in the Middle East, finished outside the points in 11th place. The Estonian still collected three points from Super Saturday and took fourth place in the championship.
Last year’s champion Thierry Neuville finally took his first victory of the season in the last rally of the year. Neuville did not win a single stage in Saudi Arabia, but he avoided the major setbacks. He finished fifth in this year’s championship.
Check the full championship standings here!
Toyota had already secured the manufacturers’ title in October at the Central European Rally. The Japanese marque finished with a dominant 224-point margin over Hyundai.
The 2026 World Rally Championship begins in January with the iconic Rallye Monte Carlo.
