Solberg takes Rally Italia Sardegna lead, intensifying pressure on Evans

Oliver Solberg moved into the lead of the title-deciding Rally Italia Sardegna on Saturday morning, putting added pressure on Elfyn Evans's bid for a first World Rally Championship.

Evans, who was WRC runner-up in 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025, saw his title prospects shrink after Solberg was the fastest across Saturday morning's three stages and jumped ahead of Hyundai pair Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux. The 25-year-old Swede leads Neuville by 2.7 seconds while Evans sits sixth, 1 minute 57.7 seconds behind the rally leader.

Evans had carried a 17-point advantage into the final round, but on the current classification that margin would fall to four points. With up to 10 bonus points available on Sunday and Solberg's fast form in Sardinia, the situation now favours Solberg over his Toyota team-mate to claim a maiden world title rather than Evans.

When asked about the title race after stage 10, Evans said: "A bit out of my control, I feel, with the road cleaning so much." He added: "[We're] not realistically going to catch anybody in front, got to stay clean for now." Those remarks came as Evans and co-driver Scott Martin were unable to match the quickest times on Saturday despite no longer facing first-on-the-road conditions on loose gravel.

Eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier is third overall, Fourmaux fourth and Sami Pajari fifth, with the Finn still capable of winning the WRC title. Pajari is 42.2 seconds clear of Evans, who is paired with co-driver Scott Martin.

Josh McErlean lies seventh, 51.7 seconds behind Evans after losing time on stage 10 when he executed a half-spin to avoid a tree; his M-Sport Ford team-mate Jon Armstrong is ninth. Solberg won the previous rally in Chile.

Evans will secure a first WRC crown if he scores 19 points from the maximum 35 available this weekend; he has averaged 19.2 points per event this season. The event points system awards 25 for a win, 17 for second, 15 for third down to one for 10th, with an additional five, four, three, two and one points available for the five quickest drivers over Sunday's four stages and the same bonuses on the final Power Stage. The scenarios that would guarantee Evans the title include finishing second overall plus at least two Sunday bonus points; third plus at least four bonus points; fourth plus at least seven bonus points; or fifth plus at least nine bonus points.

Sami Pajari must outscore championship leader Evans by at least 18 points and gain four more than Solberg to take the title; if Pajari were to score the maximum 35 points and Evans no more than 18, the Toyota pair would be level on 248 points and Pajari would become champion by virtue of four rally victories compared with Evans's two. Solberg needs to outscore Evans by at least 22 points and beat Pajari by five points to claim the championship; a 35-point weekend for Solberg combined with 15 points for Evans would leave them level on 244 points and make Solberg world champion on countback with three rally wins.

The rally continues with a further 13 stages before the winner—and the 2026 World Rally champion—is crowned on Sunday. Remaining scheduled stages include SS11: Lerno - Sa Conhedda - Monti de Ala 2, 24.14km (13:31 BST); SS12: Coiluna - Loelle 2, 24.83km (14:41 BST); SS13: Solorche 2, 12.86km (15:37 BST); SS14: Osilo - Tergu 1, 23.71km (07:31 BST); SS15: Sassari - Argentiera 1, 7.10km (09:05 BST); SS16: Osilo - Tergu 2, 23.71km (10:38 BST); and SS17: Wolf Power Stage, Sassari - Argentiera 1, 7.10km (13:15 BST).