Formula One had such an entertaining Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia this weekend, but this is one of the moments where you simply couldn’t miss what transpired in the World Rally Championship (WRC) finale at Rally Italia Sardegna.

Elfyn Evans of Toyota Gazoo Racing was crowned the 2026 World Rally Champion, where the title fight was decided on a winner-takes-all Power Stage.

Heading into the season finale, Evans had a 21-point lead over his TGR-WRT teammate Oliver Solberg. But with Evans starting first on the road throughout the dry and dusty Sardegna stages, the Welshman was on the back foot and created a tense atmosphere throughout the race weekend.

Solberg, on the other hand, started a more favorable third on the road, and thus took the lead on the second day of the rally. The Swede took a commanding overall lead and headed into the final day just six points behind Evans, and even closed the gap to three points after topping the Super Sunday standings.

On the penultimate stage, Evans suffered a punctured front tire and had to stop for a wheel change, dropping him in the Super Sunday standings, which reduced the points gap to just one.

That meant the title was on the line in the final stage. If Solberg finished ahead of Evans on SS17, the Swede would take the title on countback if the rally ended with the pair level on points, as Solberg had more rally wins in the season. Evans only needed to post a faster time than Solberg on the final stage to take the title.

Evans finished the stage first and posted the third-fastest time. With the world’s eyes on Solberg, the Swede tackled the stage and was up on the splits until Solberg ran off the road just two corners away from the finish line. Solberg recovered and finished the stage to take victory in Rally Sardegna, but his mistake handed Evans the 2026 WRC title.

Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin are the United Kingdom’s first WRC champions since the late Richard Burns took the title with Subaru in 2001, and the late Colin McRae in 1995.

Toyota Gazoo Racing, on the other hand, has completed its back-to-back double title sweep after securing the manufacturers’ crown prior to the WRC finale, and has given a fitting farewell to the highly successful Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 car as new regulations take effect next year.