Sébastien Ogier still plans to complete the 2026 World Rally Championship season, despite admitting his championship chances “are more or less gone”.
The nine-time champion was leading last weekend’s Rally Finland by 20.9 seconds with four stages to go, but an accident near the end of SS17 ended his event on the spot.
He and stand-in co-driver Julien Ingrassia were taken to hospital overnight for checks but both returned home on Sunday.
Ogier’s non-score leaves him 62 points behind his championship-leading Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans, raising questions as to whether Ogier would complete the rest of the season as originally intended.
But in a statement on social media, the reigning champion confirmed he will return to action at Rally Paraguay (August 27-30).
“After a great run, Rally Finland obviously didn’t end up like planned, and our championship hopes are more or less gone,” Ogier said.
“Still, there are four remaining rounds this season and Vincent Landais and I will be there, with only one target: win them all.”
Landais missed Rally Finland for personal reasons, but is also set to return in three weeks’ time.
