page_title: 2018 World Rally Championship
section_title: Rally Sweden
hierarchical_section_title: 2018 World Rally Championship / Season report / Rally Sweden
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Podium Rajdu Szwecji 2018
context_page_description: The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was the 46th season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews were competing in thirteen events—starting with the Monte Carlo Rally in January and finishing with Rally Australia in November—for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews were free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only Manufacturers competing with 2017-specification World Rally Cars were eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The series were once again supported by the World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 categories at every round and by the Junior World Rally Championship at selected rounds.
  Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia started the season as the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions after securing their fifth consecutive World Championship titles at the 2017 Wales Rally GB. M-Sport, the team they drove for in 2017, were the defending manufacturers' champions.
context_section_description: Thierry Neuville won his seventh world rally and his first on snow to take the lead of the drivers' championship by ten points. The Belgian also became only the third non-Nordic driver to win the event after Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier. Craig Breen finished a career-high second after a consistent performance, with Andreas Mikkelsen rounding out the podium. With a one-three finish, Hyundai led the manufacturers' championship for the first time ever. Esapekka Lappi grabbed fourth from Hayden Paddon, and also took a full five points from the Power Stage to climbed up to fourth in the drivers' championship, on the same points as teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, who was one of many drivers to struggle in the deep snow and finished seventh overall. Norwegian Mads Østberg drove a Citroën C3 WRC especially for the event and finished sixth. Young Finn Teemu Suninen was eighth in a Ford Fiesta, the highest placed amongst the M-Sport drivers. Ott Tänak and Monte-Carlo winner Sébastien Ogier struggled the most with grip all weekend, as they ploughed a path through deep snow, being second and first on the road order. They were unable to regain lost ground and finished ninth and tenth respectively. Elfyn Evans struggled all weekend and finished outside the points in eleventh, whilst Kris Meeke retired with engine issues after hitting a snowbank during Saturday.
caption: Top three crews celebrating on the podium.
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