Jumping into Rally Finland - All you need to know

Rally Finland is here - the fastest event on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar. The Finnish Grand Prix, as it is also affectionately known, is one of the highlights on the motorsport calendar - one that everyone wants to win.

Famed for its high-speed, long sweeping corners on loose gravel, coupled with stomach churning jumps - this rollercoaster ride is not of the faint hearted. How do things shape up coming into the final European gravel rally of the season? Feels like a power shift is in the air…

Oliver Solberg made his debut in the Toyota Yaris Rally1 last time out in Estonia - an opportunity granted to the young Swede after a strong first half of the season in the Yaris Rally2 model fighting for the WRC2 crown. Solberg grabbed his one-off opportunity with both hands and led the rally from the second stage to win his first ever WRC event in emotional fashion. With Solberg returning to focus on his WRC2 programme in Finland - the path is clear for another driver to step into the limelight.

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New championship leader Ott Tänak will line-up first on the road for the opening day of Finland. This is something in the first part of the season we never thought we would say - after a turbulent opening few rounds on the 2025 calendar. The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team struggled to get to grips with new for 2025 Hankook tyres and development of their i20 against their rivals Toyota. 

Now the pendulum of form has swung in the way of Hyundai, as Tänak has been the sensation of the service park. Two second place finishes and two wins in as many rallies has catapulted the Estonian to the top of the table for the first time since March 2023. The Hyundai driver will be full of confidence and will have to harness that to get the best out of his Finnish trip. Rally Estonia was the perfect warm-up with the roads the closest in characteristics to Finland. However, Tänak will have to road sweep for the first time this year. This will be critical for his title chances - if he can do the business from first on the road - then game on for his second world crown.

The turn in form isn’t just in the Tänak camp - teammates Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux are also beginning to click with their versions of the i20 Rally1. Defending champion Neuville will believe the title defence is all but over - but the quest for his first win of the season will go on, as he looks to help Hyundai wrestle top spot in the manufacturers from Toyota - a podium last time out will give him the belief. Fourmaux bagged fifth in Estonia and is starting to get into his stride in his first season with Hyundai. The Frenchman is beginning to show his blistering form of 2024 once more and a podium could well be in reach this weekend and maiden win is still on the radar. 

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British driver Elfyn Evans, who has had to sweep the roads for all but one round this season, endured a soul searching run in Estonia. The Welshman - who is leading the charge for the Toyota Gazoo World Rally Team - struggled with the front end of his Yaris Rally1 car and getting the silver machine to point in the direction he commanded. Sixth was all he could muster with his set-up struggles and being first on the road didn’t help. Now second in the series, he will follow Tänak’s tyre tracks and with that first on the road burden removed, this should help the 2023 Rally Finland winner get closer to the podium fight. 

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With the tables turned, it is Toyota who are the ones now scrabbling into action. Double world champion Kalle Rovanperä has yet to win his home WRC event - but with a despondent fourth in Estonia, Rovanperä will have to dig deep to find victory this weekend as the Finn appears lost at sea with his title hopes this season. The pressure also mounts on Takamoto Katsuta, who hasn’t scored points in the last two events. The Japanese driver knows what it takes to stand on the Finland podium, but with Solberg’s arrive and drive win less than a fortnight ago - the Toyota top brass will be looking for an up-turn in pace in the next few events from Takamoto. 

Sami Pajari will be taking to his local stages for the second time in a Rally1 car. The young Finn will be eyeing his first podium and what a place to do it - in front of the home fans. Realistically another top five would be a brilliant showing against the strong opposition on display in Jyväskylä this weekend.  

Bolstering the Toyota ranks is eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier, who is dipping in and out of the championship in a part campaign. Despite missing three rounds, the Frenchman is only 21 points adrift from sparring partner Tänak, and after his Finland win in 2024 will be looking to give Toyota something to cling onto for the championship run in.

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The third and final team in the Rally1 top-flight are British concern M-Sport - running a privateer fleet of Ford Puma Rally1 cars. The Cockermouth outfit are focusing on developing young driver talent in 2025 and will be eyeing points rather than podiums on the high-speed Finland stages. If retirements hit the manufacturer teams ahead, there could be the sniff of a top five, even podium if everything runs smoothly for the blue oval machines. Latvian Mārtiņš Sesks will likely be the team pacesetter in the Puma after finishing as top M-Sport runner in Estonia with eighth. Full-time drivers Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster on their day can also deliver the goods but will need to learn fast if they want to bag big points in Finland.

In the WRC2 feeder category, Oliver Solberg returns to the fight with his stock significantly increased. The Toyota driver will be odds-on favourite for the win here, and will enjoy locking horns with his Rally2 rivals Yohan Rossel (Citroen) and Gus Greensmith (Skoda) once more for the support act win.

Follow all the action of the FIA World Rally Championship LIVE this weekend from Finland 31st July - 3rd August. Four days of intense action on the loose is not to be missed!

Watch WRC on DAZN

The 2025 World Rally Championship is available through DAZN on its own dedicated app channel,  Rally TV. It is available either as a dedicated Rally TV subscription, or as part of your existing DAZN subscription for a small add-on fee.

DAZN is the home of Rally TV worldwide, excluding Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Rally TV also broadcasts every rally from the European Rally Championship.

Watch every WRC and ERC rally this year on DAZN's 24-hour dedicated Rally TV channel. For more information on prices, subscriptions and more, click here.