WRC title permutations: what can be decided in Chile?
The calculators are officially out as the FIA World Rally Championship heads straight from ueno Rally del Paraguay to Rally Chile Bio Bío next week. Just three rounds of the 2026 season remain following Paraguay, where secured his third consecutive victory to reduce ’ drivers’ championship advantage to 20 points.
While the main drivers' crown cannot be settled in Chile—with Evans leading on 216 points, Pajari on 196, and third on 175, alongside , , , and still mathematically in the hunt—eliminations are on the table. With 35 points available per round, anyone leaving Concepción more than 70 points behind the leader will be out of contention. The exact same 20-point gap applies in the co-drivers' standings with Scott Martin leading Marko Salminen and Elliott Edmondson.
The big story, however, is the manufacturers’ championship. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT holds 554 points against Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team’s 381—a 173-point advantage with 120 points left after Chile. Hyundai must outscore Toyota by at least 54 points to keep the fight alive. In fact, just seven points for Toyota will guarantee the title even if Hyundai takes the maximum 60, as ties fall to Toyota on countback due to their overwhelming number of rally victories in 2026. Should Toyota get the job done across the 16 stages covering 311.70 competitive kilometres around Concepción, they will secure their 10th manufacturers’ title, drawing level with Lancia at the top of the all-time list.
In WRC2, remains in command despite failing to score in Paraguay. The Estonian has 100 points, 21 more than and 24 ahead of , with fourth on 66 points. Neither Korhonen nor Suninen is entered in Chile, but Virves cannot secure the outright WRC2 crown there because Suninen retains enough nominated scoring opportunities to reach a theoretical maximum of 126 by winning in both Italy and Saudi Arabia. The WRC2 Teams’ title, meanwhile, is already decided: Lancia Corse HF clinched the crown in Paraguay, putting it beyond Toksport WRT’s reach in Lancia’s first season back in the World Rally Championship, thanks to Nikolay Gryazin and .