For a moment, Petter Solberg thought his son had made history.
As Oliver Solberg closed in on the final stop line of the 2026 World Rally Championship season, he was on title-winning pace.
The Solberg family was asked to gather round the stop control to welcome Oliver and co-driver Elliott Edmondson in as new world champions.
But then… well, you know the rest.
This was a tough moment for Solberg Jr, but also his father who thought he and Oliver were about to become the first father and son world champions in WRC history.
“The heart rate has been high the whole weekend,” Petter Solberg told DirtFish.
“His motivation before this race, he believed that he could win the World Championship and I said, ‘Yeah, I like your positivity but it’s 21 points, you know?’
Petter was there to console Oliver before he faced the media on Sunday
“At the same time, his passion to do it from the first stage, I think it’s been great. I love this passion and motivation. Of course you know the emotions and crying and disappointment by being 1.9 seconds up 200 meters before the finish and… it was a mistake you know, what can you expect?
“He won the rally by a lot and he got silver in the world championship and I mean it’s his first proper year in the championship. He should be very proud, but still it’s difficult straight away.”
The 2003 world champion believed what unfolded was unlike anything he’s ever seen before, with the entire season being decided two corners from the end.
“To be honest with you, this has been the craziest sports event I’ve ever been to,” Solberg said, “because these points, you know, like Neuville went away yesterday, and then the puncture with Fourmaux, and then Ogier drove a little bit slow today, and you know, we didn’t know what was going on, so it was, I will not say a lottery, but… what is going on??
“And I’m just so happy that as a sport, rallying can make this happen at the end or the last stage and get this drama. But unfortunately, OK, Oliver lost it now. But I mean, it’s crazy. So, what can I say? I’m exhausted! I haven’t even been driving, you know?”
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was the first person to speak to Oliver at the stop-line, but Petter wasn’t far behind him. What did Petter – who admitted he was also crying – say to his son?
“You have to take the positive from it. If somebody deserves the championship it’s also Evans you know it’s a fantastic family and they worked very hard and tried for a long time and so I mean… you can never take anything that from him or anything.
“But it was an incredible fight, and he won it, and it was well deserved. This is the fighting thing, you know, but I didn’t.. I just focused on, you know, you won the race, you have a great future, you have second in the world championship, you’re going to the [FIA] prizegiving in the world championship, I mean, first year, come on.
“And we can go back and can think Gran Canaria and stuff like that, but this is how it is: you have to learn and do mistakes yourself and regroup and less and less mistakes will happen [in the future]. He’s the age of 25.
Oliver got second in the world championship in his second full season; Petter managed it in his second
“If you go back in history also whether there’s no social media or whatever you know all drivers… rallying is so different sport that you can’t to explain for people that you shouldn’t do that or do that, you have to do mistakes yourself,” Solberg added.
“And go back to Tänak or Colin McRae or Carlos Sainz or even Loeb and Ogier you know, I mean this is how it is so… but he regrouped and had fantastic last five rallies. So it doesn’t matter if it’s technical or if it’s a mistake. At the end of the day, you’re losing points. But all this will come together.
“He has more passion than me, I think, honestly! You know, it’s not easy to be the next generation either, you know. It’s the pressure, and I didn’t do it like you. Yeah, I know, but I got my full, you know, silver in my full second season, you know. So, I mean, yeah. Just push on and be happy and work hard and take care of your team and people around you and then they’ll be good.”
