Neuville started the season as the defending champion, but it was already clear during the first half that the Belgian was nowhere near retaining the title. In the end, Neuville finished fifth in the WRC standings, which was a huge disappointment compared to pre-season expectations.
Neuville did take some consolation by claiming victory at the final round of the season, the Saudi Arabian WRC event. In addition, he collected four other podium finishes.
Now, however, a new opportunity lies ahead as the 2026 WRC season gets under way on Thursday evening with the iconic Rallye Monte-Carlo.
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is always a tough event to start the season with, but there’s always a lot of excitement around it. There are new challenges, a new opportunity for a good season, and the chance to win the rally that everybody wants to win,” Neuville says.
“We’ve won it twice, and we always say, ‘there’s never two without three’, so hopefully we can be right up there and stand on the top step at the end of the rally.”
Neuville will once again face his toughest opposition from the Toyota camp, as Sébastien Ogier is targeting his 11th victory on home roads. Last season’s runner-up Elfyn Evans has also learned the tricks of Monte Carlo and is defending his second place from last year.
Neuville’s team-mate Adrien Fourmaux will certainly also have a say, having prepared excellently for the event and finishing third on his Hyundai debut at Monte Carlo last season.
Neuville underlines the importance of having the right set-up. If you want to succeed in Monte Carlo, you have to trust your machinery one hundred per cent.
“To have a good event you need to trust the car; it has to be easy to drive in all kinds of conditions, and if you trust that the car is predictable, it makes your life much easier,” Neuville sums up.
“It’s tough to predict the conditions now, but we can say for sure that we will have a mix of drier and icier sections.”
Rallye Monte-Carlo gets under way on Thursday with three special stages. In total, there are 17 stages on the itinerary, covering around 340 kilometres. The rally concludes on Sunday.
