In one sense, it was like nothing had changed.
The color of the overalls, the dry wit and sense of humor and the tendency to be very self-critical and self-deprecating; none of that had changed since 2024.
But the outlook unquestionably had.
Esapekka Lappi thought he was done with the World Rally Championship. He’d made his peace with that. So the opportunity to come back was absolutely that – an opportunity, not a necessity.
“I think you’re right,” Lappi told DirtFish. “I’m not so stressed because I’m not driving for my future anymore. I just come here to try to do my best and enjoy and do the job that I’m hired for. And then for the future, I don’t care.”
That level of mental freedom is an enviable place for any elite sportsperson to be, as it’s often said the best performances come by simply feeling confident, happy and stress-free.
Lappi is not chasing a career in WRC anymore, and is reaping the benefits of that approach
Lappi might not have been 100% confident throughout Rally Sweden as he learned Hankook’s tires and the ‘Evo’ version of Hyundai’s i20 N Rally1, and his deficit to the pace-setting Toyotas might not have made him happy all the time either.
But he was certainly stress-free, and it showed. His team-mates Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville are aiming for the championship this year, but Lappi outperformed them both.
“To be the fastest driver of the team, I think we couldn’t expect that. Nobody probably did,” Lappi reflected.
“I was hoping that I could fight against them, but to be ahead of them, basically all the time, was more than I was thinking so I need to be pleased with that. But then on the other hand, yeah, a bit surprising how far we were from the Toyotas. They were really, really strong.
“First I was thinking it’s only me but then it was not, you know it was the whole team who were challenging or struggling with the pace. So yeah that’s a bit frustrating but I need to be pleased with what we did.”
Lappi’s boss was also pleased.
“I think he did exactly what everybody thought he could potentially do,” said Hyundai sporting director, Andrew Wheatley.
“I think if we were a third of a second a kilometer faster in the car he would have been challenging to be on the podium. He did a fantastic job, jumped into the car, limited testing, did exactly what was required, understood exactly what was needed, not a scratch on the car, gave some good feedback to the team, helped us with the cold weather preparations, and Enni [Mälkönen] smiled whenever you looked at her, so it was a breath of fresh air through the team. And it’s great.
“I think what we’re seeing with EP is exactly where he wants to be. He doesn’t want to be fighting every weekend for a championship. He wants to come and enjoy his driving, feel like he can make a positive contribution to the team, and then go home and come back in a few weeks’ time.”
Nail on the head. There is no chasing the next opportunity, just making the most of the one he’s got in his hands. What Lappi has managed to achieve is something we can all envy: the perfect work-life balance.
“It was good to be one year away, let’s say recharge, do something else – some rallying also but on a national level – and think about different things: what’s important to myself, what’s important to the family and balance these things,” Lappi concluded.
“I don’t think [this is some big comeback] this is just a program of a few rallies and we try to enjoy it.”
