World Rally Championship crews are braced for a ‘proper, old school’ Rally Monte Carlo with snow and wintry conditions set to become a major factor at the 2026 season opener.
In recent seasons, the annual WRC curtain raiser – held on the famous twisty mountain road in the French Alps – has been largely run in dry conditions, devoid of the notorious snow and icy conditions synonymous with the rally.
However, this year’s event looks set to serve up the trickiest of conditions with snow, rain and sleet likely to throw a curveball at crews tackling the 17-stage asphalt event.
This week’s recce and Wednesday’s shakedown were held under clear skies, in dry conditions, but this is set to be replaced by snow on Thursday in the Gap, Hautes-Alpes region, where the rally is based. As is tradition, the event begins on Thursday evening with three stages awaiting the 65-car field held in what is expected to be incredibly tricky, changeable conditions that will make tyre choice crucial.
Reigning world champion and 10-time Monte Carlo winner Sebastien Ogier has the best knowledge of the stages, having grown up in the region. But the Toyota driver believes the changeable wintry weather will render Thursday’s stages “very difficult”.
“I wish I could tell you [where the snow will be] and I wish I could tell you that there won’t be so much because for me being the first car on the road the snow will make it very difficult, but we will see,” Ogier told Autosport.
Atmosphere
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“Thursday night will be the first big question and on stage two there will be some, but how much and for how long that is going to be the key for the tyre choice. Thursday night is going to be a lottery to know which condition we are going to get and to put the right tyres on the car.”
While weather reports continue to fluctuate across the four-day event, Hyundai Motorsport sporting director Andrew Wheatley expects the WRC is set for its first ‘proper Monte’ in years.
“Honestly if the conditions are consistent, it won’t be problem to make a decision [on tyres], but it is not going to be, and I think Thursday night is going to be a good example. But when there are challenges, there are opportunities,” said Wheatley.
“I think it will a proper Monte. I heard Seb Ogier say the other day that you only need one icy corner to make Monte Carlo, and the whole rally can turn on one corner, but here we are going to have more corners that will be difficult.”
Drivers facing tyre choice headache
Navigating the expected wintry conditions will be made harder by the fact that crews will have to nominate their tyre choice several hours before the start of Thursday’s stages. This weekend, four Hankook tyre options are available, ranging from soft and super-soft slick tyre, and two winter tyre options – one with studs and one without.
A decision will need to be made by 2:30pm, more than two hours before the opening stage, with the final stage of the day set to begin six hours later. This is only set to increase the pressure on the WRC weather crews to predict conditions accurately to ensure a correct tyre choice is made.
Tyres
Photo by: Toyota Racing
“For me, I have never driven in these conditions and had the tyre choice,” said M-Sport-Ford’s Rally1 rookie Jon Armstrong. “I’m not sure anyone likes it [having to choose tyre hours before the stages], but it is part of the challenge. Maybe we can bring back the middle of the stage pitstop like the old days. But for now, we are not allowed [to do that].”
Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux is anticipating that the weather will result in some “weird” tyre choices as teams aim to cover all bases.
“This is going to be very difficult, and our weather guys will have a lot of pressure,” he said. “I think we will see some very weird mixed tyre packages with one soft, one super soft, one snow and one studded, at least if you don’t know you take something.
“If it is proper ice and snow it is quite fun, but when it becomes like slush, there is a lot [for the tyre] to evacuate – it can be quite a nightmare to be fair, and you become a passenger. It is Monte Carlo and we all have the same tyres, so we are going to have to manage.”
Adding to the complexity that lies ahead is the fact that pace notes for the stages have been made in bone dry conditions, which will require significant amendments should snow and ice arrive.
“The recce was good but unfortunately what we saw I don’t think we will see in the rally so I think for that reason it is going to make it super challenging,” said Hyundai’s Hayden Paddon, who will make his return to the WRC after an eight-year hiatus this weekend.
“Obviously the weather alone is going to make it bad but when you don’t know [the conditions], and the gravel notes can help a bit, but a lot of it you are going to be driving blind, so it is not going to be easy.”
Thierry Neuville, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Photo by: Hyundai Motorsport
Troubled start to Neuville’s season
Aside from the threat of snow, the other major talking point arrived during Wednesday’s shakedown as Thierry Neuville Hyundai i20 N suffered a driveshaft and suspension failure.
He appeared to veer wildly off the road at slow speed, causing damage to the front right of the car, and Hyundai is conducting an investigation into the failure.
“It was a chaotic start for us,” said Neuville. “We had a driveshaft issue at the beginning of the stage. While we were driving slowly, trying to just drive out of the stage, we had a suspension failure. Caused or not by the driveshaft, I don’t know yet. I need to speak to the team, they are analysing. Maybe the driveshaft started to flap and it cut the wishbone, so we need to find out.
“Obviously the footage is very visible. We are driving slowly and suddenly the car pulls me into the ditch. So, it came as a bit of a surprise.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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