Thierry Neuville Penalised at Rally Sweden 2026

WRC, Sportrik Media - Thierry Neuville has been handed a one-minute time penalty and fined €1,500 for contesting SS15 at Rally Sweden 2026 without his helmet chin strap correctly fastened. The sanction followed a steward investigation after onboard footage review.

The 2024 world champion is currently seventh overall at the second round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship. His weekend had already been compromised on Friday morning when the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team driver became stuck in a snowbank and lost over a minute after unfastening his seat belts to clear a fogged-up windshield.

Neuville had initially set the fastest time on Saturday’s final stage, SS15 Umea Sprint, beating Takamoto Katsuta by 1.1 seconds. However, onboard footage revealed that the chin strap of his helmet was not properly secured during the stage, triggering an investigation by the stewards.

Hyundai team manager Pablo Marcos explained to the stewards that the “extreme weather conditions” meant Neuville was “unable to feel that the chin strap was not properly secured.” While the officials acknowledged that the infringement was not intentional, they ruled that the Belgian was nonetheless in breach of mandatory safety protocol.

As a result, one minute has been added to Neuville’s time for SS15, alongside the financial penalty. Despite the sanction, he retains seventh place overall, having held a margin of 1m14.8s over M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver Jon Armstrong.

The decision underlines the strict enforcement of safety regulations in the WRC, where compliance with protective equipment standards is mandatory regardless of intent. Although the penalty does not alter his overall position, it adds another setback to a challenging Rally Sweden weekend for Neuville.