2021 World Rally Championship-3

With the addition of Rally Chile to the calendar in 2019, the FIA opened the tender process for new events to join the championship in 2020.[11] Three events were successful,[lower-alpha 2] but the championship was affected by a series of cancellations in 2019 and 2020 that necessitated changes to the 2021 calendar:

• Rally Catalunya is due to return to the championship. The rally was removed from the 2020 schedule as part of an event-sharing agreement that would see it removed from the calendar for one year, but be guaranteed a spot on the calendar for the next two.[6] The rally is set return to running exclusively on tarmac roads for the first time since 2009.[13][lower-alpha 3]
• Rally Chile is due to return after a one-year absence. The rally had been included on the original draft of the 2020 calendar, but was later cancelled in the face of ongoing civil unrest in the country. Organisers of the event negotiated a return to the calendar for the 2021 championship.[14]
• Rally Croatia will make its championship début, replacing Rally Mexico.[6] Croatia will become the 34th country to host a World Rally Championship round. It will be based in Zagreb, and run on tarmac roads.
• Rally Deutschland was removed from the calendar. The event had planned to run in 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] It was not included on the 2021 calendar.
• The Rallies of Finland and Portugal are due to return to the championship after a one-year absence. The 2020 events were cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17]

The Ypres Rally's début will make Belgium the 35th nation to hold a World Rally Championship event.

• Rally GB was replaced by the Ypres Rally in Belgium.[10] Rally GB had originally planned to move from Wales to Northern Ireland, but the event was replaced when organisers were unable to come to an agreement with the government of Northern Ireland to support the rally.
• Rally Japan is scheduled to return to the calendar for the first time since 2010.[6] It was originally included on the 2020 calendar, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
• The Safari Rally is scheduled to be run as a World Championship event for the first time since 2002. The event is to be based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and feature stages around Lake Naivasha.[19] The event had been planned to make its return to the championship in 2020, but was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

The Arctic Rally is set to become the first World Rally Championship round held inside the Arctic Circle.

• Rally Sweden was included on the first draft of the calendar with its traditional February date,[8] but was cancelled before the start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21][9] The Arctic Rally in northern Finland was chosen as a replacement to ensure that a winter rally was included on the calendar.[22][lower-alpha 4]

In light of the disruption caused by the pandemic in 2020 and in anticipation of further delays, the calendar included an additional six reserve rounds that could be included in the event of rallies being cancelled. These events include rallies in Greece, Turkey, Argentina, Monza and Latvia.[6][24] The Ypres Rally had also been included on this reserve list before it replaced Rally GB.[10]

Pirelli will replace Michelin as the sport's sole tyre supplier.[27] Under the terms of the agreement, Pirelli will supply tyres to all teams entering World Rally Cars and R5 cars.

Competitors in the WRC-3 category will be awarded Power Stage bonus points for the first time.[28]

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers in each event. In the manufacturers' championship, teams were eligible to nominate three crews to score points, but these points were only awarded to the top two classified finishers representing a manufacturer and driving a 2017-specification World Rally Car. There were also five bonus points awarded to the winners of the Power Stage, four points for second place, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Power Stage points were awarded in the drivers', co-drivers' championships and manufacturers'.[28][30]