Before the Rally Finland weekend, Neuville had an eight-point lead over his teammate Ott Tänak, with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans trailing by 13 points.
Tänak and Evans both failed to score any points in Jyväskylä. Tänak crashed out heavily on Friday, while Evans crashed on Sunday and had to retire on the penultimate special stage.
Neuville finished second in the rally, earning 23 points. Only the rally winner, Sebastien Ogier, collected more points, with a total of 24.
Ogier has now moved ahead of Tänak and Evans in the championship standings, despite missing three rallies this season. Ogier is 27 points behind Neuville with four rounds remaining in the season.
It remains to be seen whether Ogier will compete in the remaining events and challenge Neuville for the title. After the Rally Finland, Ogier had not yet confirmed his plans.
Tänak, who has dropped to third in the standings, is now 31 points behind Neuville. Evans is 36 points off the lead.
In the manufacturers’ championship, Hyundai has taken a significant lead over Toyota, despite the situation looking very different on Sunday morning. Toyota’s weekend fell apart on the penultimate special stage, where both Evans and rally leader Kalle Rovanperä crashed and retired.
This resulted in Toyota losing Rovanperä’s conditional points from Saturday. Additionally, both Rovanperä and Evans were in contention for points on Sunday, but this was not to be.
Hyundai ultimately managed to score 19 more points than Toyota on the gravel roads of Central Finland, extending their lead in the manufacturers’ championship to 20 points.
