Opening rounds The new season started at
Monte-Carlo. Nine-time world champion
Sébastien Loeb returned to the championship with
M-Sport and was immediately in a battle for the victory with reigning world champion
Sébastien Ogier. It was not until the final stage of Saturday, when Ogier and
Benjamin Veillas had a run with slick tyres through the icy stage, that the time difference began to open up with Loeb and
Isabelle Galmiche trailing by over twenty seconds. However, a front-left
puncture at the penultimate stage plus a penalty for a jump-start at the
Power Stage lost Ogier and Veillas the lead, handing the rally victory to Loeb and Galmiche. This was Loeb's
eightieth rally victory and his first since the
2018 Rally Catalunya. The victory also saw Loeb became
the oldest driver to win a World Rally Championship event and Galmiche became the first female winner of a WRC fixture since .
Elfyn Evans and
Scott Martin were also in the fight for the win before they went off-road.
Hyundai's 2022 campaign seemed in trouble, not only because of a lack of speed in comparison to M-Sport and
Toyota, but also for its poor reliability which saw a series of mechanical failures that forced the crews of
Ott Tänak and
Martin Järveoja and of
Oliver Solberg and
Elliott Edmondson into retirements. The third crew of
Thierry Neuville and
Martijn Wydaeghe overcame a
damper issue, only to finish in sixth place, over eight minutes off the lead. The first leg of
Rally Sweden saw five drivers leading in seven stages. Road opener
Kalle Rovanperä and
Jonne Halttunen faced the challenge to sweep loose snow, but they slotted into second overall by the end of Friday. The Finnish crew soon overhauled overnight leader Neuville and Wydaeghe on the following day and held on to the lead to grab their third career victory. Evans and Martin were running second while chasing down the rally leaders, but their effort was undone when they crashed on the final day and retired from the event. Tänak and Järveoja also retired on Friday following a
hybrid unit issue, but they rejoined the rally and won the
Power Stage.
Craig Breen and
Paul Nagle also had a weekend to forget as they beached their
Puma on just the second stage of the rally. They eventually finished the event in last position, but did collect one consolation point from the Power Stage. The
Croatia Rally oversaw a series of punctures, with surprisingly low-grip conditions on wet tarmac making the rally eventful. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen held a long-lived lead, which was over a minute at one point. However, a compromised tyre choice plus a flat tyre saw the lead snatched by Tänak and Järveoja of Hyundai after the penultimate stage. Rovanperä and Halttunen gave a final push at the
Power Stage to overcome Tänak and Järveoja, and with it, a back-to-back victory and a commanding lead of twenty-nine points in the championships. The final podium spot was covered by Neuville and Wydaeghe, who were given a total of two-minute time penalty for late check-in,
speeding during road section. The trouble-some season campaign of
Adrien Fourmaux and
Alexandre Coria is yet to start as they retired for the third rally in a row after crashing into the front garden of a neighbouring house.
Mid-season gravel events Heading into the gravel seasons, Rovanperä and Halttunen would become the road opener as the championship leaders, but that did not sacrifice their performance. Their consistent pace at the opening day of Rally de Portugal saw them maximize the benefit from their rivals' troubles to acquire a better road position for Saturday. This was further transferred to blistering pace, as they overhauled long-time
rally leader teammates Evans and Martin by the end of Saturday and eventually won their third event of the season, making it a hat-trick, with another
Power Stage win. The victory also saw the Finnish crew increase their championship leads to a commanding advantage of forty-six points. The returning Hyundai crew of
Dani Sordo and
Cándido Carrera put on a show with the Toyota crew of
Takamoto Katsuta and
Aaron Johnston, with the Hyundai pair coming out in front to round out of the final podium, edging out by just over two seconds. A couple of crews were battling for the lead as
the Sardegna rally began, with
Esapekka Lappi and
Janne Ferm came out in the lead at the end of the first leg. However, the Finnish crew crashed out at the opening stage of the following day, handing the rally lead to
Ott Tänak and
Martin Järveoja. The former world champions steadily increased their lead and eventually took the victory, ending their winning drought that lasted 462 days. Moving to
Kenya, teams and crews had to face challenging conditions. While both M-Sport and Hyundai suffering, Toyota steered out of troubles and finished the event with a 1–2–3–4 finish, the first team to do so since
Citroën Total WRT at the
2010 Rally Bulgaria. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen sealed the victory, their fourth of the season. The Finnish crew once again extended their lead in the championships, sixty-five points clear in the title race. The unstoppable form of Rovanperä and Halttunen continued in
Estonia, where the Finnish crew claimed their fifth win in six rallies. Halfway through the season, their championship leads were stretching to a doughty eighty-three points. and
Martin Järveoja driving a
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 at the
2022 Rally Finland For the past five years, Toyota dominated the
Rally Finland. However,
the 2022 event was spoiled by the Hyundai crew of Tänak and Järveoja, who led the event from the start to finish but the first stage to secure their second win of the season. This helped the 2019 champions climbed up to second in the championships. The victory was also the first ever triumph in Finland for the South Korean manufacturer. Championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen were compromised by their road position on Friday, but they fought back to take the runner-up spot. Teammates Lappi and Ferm rounded out the podium despite a roll during the penultimate stage.
Closing rounds The second pure-asphalt event was held in Ypres, where several infamous junction cuts caught out several top runners, including all three M-Sport crews, local heroes Neuville and Wydaeghe and championship leaders Rovanperä and Halttunen. The tricky tarmac did not trap the Hyundai crew of Tänak and Järveoja, who fended off the Toyota pair of Evans and Martin to secure their third victory of the season. Lappi and Ferm achieved back-to-back podium finish, with Solberg and Edmondson completed the rally in a career-high fourth place. Hyundai carried on their form at
Acropolis, finishing the rally with a first-ever 1–2–3 in team history, with Neuville and Wydaeghe taking the victory. Meanwhile, Rovanperä and Halttunen only took four points from the weekend, and therefore their championship leads were slashed to fifty-three points. Rovanperä and Halttunen turned the table around as they won
the following event, which was enough for the Finns to secure their first world titles. At the age of 22 years and 1 day, Rovanperä also became
the youngest World Rally Champion, breaking the previous record set by
Colin McRae at the age of 27 years and 89 days in . Toyota also secured the manufacturers' title at
the following round, with Ogier and Veillas — who sealed the first victory in his career — claimed the win. The final round of the season, the
Rally Japan started with the Hyundai of Sordo and Carrera destroyed by fire on the second stage. With Ogier and new co-driver Landais collecting a puncture and Breen and new co-driver
James Fulton crashing out, Evans and Martin took the early lead ahead of Neuville and Rovanpera at the end of Friday. Rovanperä and Halttunen later dropped down to 12th after changing a puncture and damaging a wheel, with Neuville and Wydaeghe surpassing Evans and Martin for the lead at the end of Saturday. Neuville and Wydaeghe eventually won the rally, with teammate Tänak and Järveoja completed a Hyundai 1–2 at their final outing for the team. Local hero Katsuta and Johnston rounded out of the podium. An early puncture and a late struggling in the rain on Sunday saw Evans further dropped down to fifth. ==Results and standings==