| Oliver Solberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Solberg at the2023 Monte Carlo Rally | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Swedish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (2001-09-23)23 September 2001 (age 24) Fredrikstad, Norway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oliver Solberg (born 23 September 2001) is a Swedishrally driver. After winning multiplecrosskarting championships in his early years, Solberg became the 2018 RallyX Nordic Champion and the 2019 FIA ERC1 Junior Champion before entering theWorld Rally Championship (WRC) in 2019.
In 2022, he competed at the top level of the WRC for the first time as the third driver forHyundai Motorsport, driving the new Rally1 car. In 2023, Solberg returned to WRC2 competition, winning his first points-scoring event atRally Sweden 2023.
In 2024, Solberg joined Formula 1 driverLando Norris' Quadrant Athlete program alongside three others, including WMX racer Lotte van Drunen, Moto3 pilotIván Ortolá, and Olympic Gold medal winnerKeegan Palmer.[1]Solberg achieved his maiden WRC victory at the2025 Rally Estonia.[2]
Solberg was introduced to the world of the WRC before his first birthday when he attended the2002 Cyprus Rally to watch his father,Petter Solberg, compete. Though a career in motorsport wasn't inevitable, as both his parents encouraged him to try football, ice hockey and many other activities, he had decided motorsport was what he wanted to do.[3] By the age of eight he was competing in crosskarting, winning his first ever race. Over the next years he won multiple Norwegian and Nordic Crosskart Championships.
Solberg started his professional rally career in 2017 at 15 years old. Given his young age, one of the few places he was allowed to compete was the Latvian Rally Championship, though he was still too young to drive the road sections which resulted in him and his co-driver Veronica Engan swapping seats between stages. His first rally was Rally Alūksne in aPeugeot 208 R2 where he finished 2nd in his class. He finished the year with 2 wins. Solberg competed in his second season of the Latvian Rally Championship in 2018, where he finished 2nd in both the LRC3 and U28 categories behind European champion Mārtiņš Sesks.
After two years competing in the Latvian Rally Championship in the R2 class, Solberg stepped into R5 machinery for the 2019 season. He won 5 consecutive rallies, ultimately winning the Latvian Rally Championship in the Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. One of the rounds of the championship, Rally Liepāja, also counted for theEuropean Rally Championship, meaning he won on his ERC debut against top-level international competition.[4] He also drove six rounds of theAmerican Rally Championship in a Subaru WRX STI, with a livery based on his father's iconic blue and gold WRC Championship-winning car. He claimed victory on only his second outing at the Olympus Rally, and achieved a total of 3 victories in 6 races in the 2019 ARA season.
Solberg made hisWRC debut at the end of the season at2019 Wales Rally GB in aVolkswagen Polo GTI R5, showing stage-winning pace but ultimately retiring from the rally.[5] The same rally also marked his father's last WRC event as he signed off with a WRC2 class victory.
After making his WRC debut at the end of 2019, Solberg stepped up into a full WRC campaign in 2020 driving his own VW Polo R5, and also a partial campaign withŠkoda Motorsport. The COVID-19 pandemic paused rallying for some time, but as the sport returned, he won the Rally Sweden Lockdown before heading into the FIA ERC and scoring a podium on his full tarmac debut before winning Rally Liepaja for the second year running. When the WRC restarted, Solberg scored his first WRC class win with a WRC3 victory atRally Estonia. He followed it up with taking home the 2020 FIA ERC1 Junior Championship title.[6]
For 2021 Solberg joined the reigning WRC champions,Hyundai Motorsport, with a plan to drive the full WRC-2 season.[7] However, after his debut for the team at the2021 Monte Carlo Rally driving the Hyundai i20 R5, he was unexpectedly offered the chance to make his top-level WRC debut in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC at the second round of the season,Arctic Rally Finland. He went on to finish 7th overall with several top 4 stage times. After a series of bad luck through the middle of the year while driving in the WRC2 class, Solberg ended the 2021 season back in theWorld Rally Car and finished fifth at the2021 Rally Monza.[8]
2022 saw Solberg return to Hyundai Motorsport's top-level team, driving as the third driver on selected events throughout the season. He shared the seat withDani Sordo,[9] with a best finish of 4th atYpres Rally.
On October 6, 2022, it was announced that Solberg and Hyundai Motorsport would part ways at the end of the season at the end of the contract.[10]
For the 2023 season, Solberg contested a full season in theWRC2 category, piloting the newŠkoda Fabia RS Rally2 forToksport WRT.[11] He concluded his WRC2 campaign with a second class victory of the season atRally Chile, ending the year sixth in the standings.[12] Solberg was retained by Škoda and Toksport for the 2024 season,[13] with the Swede contesting another full WRC2 campaign. He finished the year as runner-up, winning three events and taking the championship battle with eventual championSami Pajari to the final round atRally Japan. A crash atRally Portugal and a puncture atRally Chile ultimately cost Solberg the title, despite him winning more stages in WRC2 than any other driver in 2024.[14]
Off the back of finishing the season as WRC2 runner-up in 2024, Solberg parted ways with Škoda and Toksport WRT. On December 10, 2024, it was announced that Solberg would joinToyota Gazoo Racing WRT and Printsport for the 2025 season, contesting a full WRC2 campaign in theToyota GR Yaris Rally2.[15] AtRally Estonia, Solberg was given the opportunity to drive theToyota GR Yaris Rally1 for his first top-line WRC start since the2022 Rally New Zealand.[16] He dominated the event, winning nine stages en route to his maiden WRC event victory.[17] Solberg also leads the2025 WRC2 Championship as of August 2025, with three event victories from five starts.
Alongside his rallying commitments, Solberg also entered the RallyX Nordic Championship in 2017, driving his father's 600bhpFIA World Rallycross Championship-winning DS3. His father had jokingly promised that Solberg could drive the car if he could get all the licences and agreements in place, assuming that it wouldn't be possible given his young age. However, Solberg managed to get things in place in time for the season start. Solberg finished on the podium on his debut, and after winning two events in 2017 he ended the season 2nd in the championship.
Solberg returned to the RallyX Nordic Championship in 2018, taking the Championship title with 3 overall wins.[18]
In 2020 Solberg made a one-off return to rallycross, driving the DS3 in the All-Star Magic Weekend atHöljes – an event aimed to bring motorsport to people around the world online during theCOVID-19 pandemic. He finished 3rd behind World RX driversJohan Kristoffersson andRobin Larsson. The 'one-off' return became a 'two-off' after he took part in theEuro RX round at Höljes, winning on track ahead of Anton Marklund and Johan Kristoffersson, but later being controversially disqualified for an overweight car.[19]
Oliver Solberg is the son of the Norwegian2003World Rally Champion,Petter Solberg, and Swedish mother Pernilla Solberg (née Walfridsson), who is also a successful former rally driver. His uncleHenning Solberg, cousin Oscar Solberg and grandparents are or have been well-known motorsport competitors. He lives inGunnarskog, Sweden.
Solberg's 2018 RallyX Nordic title success, as well as his rally career so far and personal journey, was the subject of the 2019 filmBorn2Drive which was released in cinemas across Norway.[20] Solberg and his family also feature in theDiscovery+ andTVNorge series, Team Solberg.[21] Season 1 was released in 2020, and Season 2 was released in 2022.
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  15th Rally Estonia | 2025 |  Elliott Edmondson | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 |
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10th Rally Estonia | 2020 |  Aaron Johnston | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 |
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Oliver Solberg | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR Ret | ESP | AUS C | NC | 0 |
| 2020 | Oliver Solberg | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | MON 25 | MEX Ret | EST 9 | TUR | 17th | 8 | ||||||||||
| Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | SWE 17 | ITA 18 | MNZ 7 | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 R5 | MON Ret | CRO | POR 11 | EST Ret | 13th | 22 | ||||||||||
| Hyundai 2C Competition | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | ARC 7 | ITA WD | KEN Ret | ESP 7 | MNZ 5 | ||||||||||||
| Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | BEL Ret | GRE Ret | FIN Ret | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | MON Ret | SWE 6 | CRO Ret | ITA | KEN 10 | EST 13 | FIN Ret | BEL 4 | GRE | NZL 5 | ESP | JPN | 12th | 33 | ||
| Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | POR 47 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON 14 | SWE 8 | MEX 8 | CRO 10 | POR 7 | ITA 44 | KEN 9 | EST 38 | FIN 6 | GRE Ret | CHL 6 | EUR | JPN | 10th | 33 | |
| 2024 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON 40 | SWE 5 | KEN 7 | CRO | POR Ret | ITA DNS | POL 10 | LAT 10 | FIN 5 | GRE | CHL 11 | EUR 7 | JPN | 13th | 27 | |
| 2025 | Printsport | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | MON 15 | SWE 9 | KEN 12 | ESP 16 | POR 10 | ITA 6 | GRE 6 | FIN 49 | PAR 7 | CHL 9 | EUR | JPN | SAU | 9th* | 60* | |
| Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | EST 1 | ||||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Oliver Solberg | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR Ret | ESP | AUS C | NC | 0 |
| 2021 | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 R5 | MON WD | ARC | CRO | POR 5 | ITA | KEN | EST Ret | 18th | 10 | |||||||
| Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | BEL Ret | GRE Ret | FIN Ret | ESP | MNZ | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | Hyundai Motorsport N | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | MON | SWE | CRO | POR 25 | ITA | KEN | EST | FIN | BEL | GRE | NZL | ESP | JPN | 49th | 3 | |
| 2023 | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE 1 | MEX 3 | CRO | POR 2 | ITA 26 | KEN | EST 16 | FIN | GRE Ret | CHL 1 | EUR | JPN | 6th | 91 | |
| 2024 | Toksport WRT | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | MON | SWE 1 | KEN 2 | CRO | POR Ret | ITA | POL 2 | LAT 1 | FIN 1 | GRE | CHL 4 | EUR | JPN | 2nd | 123 | |
| 2025 | Printsport | Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 | MON | SWE 1 | KEN 5 | ESP | POR 1 | ITA | GRE 1 | EST | FIN 16 | PAR 1 | CHL 1 | EUR | JPN | SAU | 1st* | 135* |
* Season still in progress.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | MON | SWE 5 | TUR | ITA 6 | MNZ 2 | 4th | 61 | ||
| Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | MEX Ret | EST 1 | |||||||||
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Sports Racing Technologies | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | PRT | ESP | LAT 1 | POL | ITA | CZE | CYP | HUN | 6th | 39 |
| 2020 | Oliver Solberg | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | ITA 3 | LAT 1 | PRT 23 | ESP 4 | 2nd | 112 | ||||
| Škoda Fabia R5 Evo | HUN 4 | |||||||||||
| 2023 | Toksport WRT | Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 | PRT | ESP | POL | LAT | SWE 1 | ITA | CZE | HUN | 15th | 33 |
| 2024 | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | HUN | ESP | SWE 1 | EST | ITA | CZE | GBR | SIL | 12th | 35 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Race of Champions Nations' Cup 2022-2023 With:Petter Solberg | Succeeded by Incumbent |
