Esapekka Lap’s continuation at Hyundai is no longer in the driver’s own hands. The future of the entire team is shrouded in uncertainty.
Esapekka Lapin the future in the World Series seemed secured even after the Swedish rally. The Finn, who retired as a part-time driver, celebrated the second race victory of his career on snowy roads.
By September, the situation has changed.
– I don’t know if anything is coming. There won’t be a full season, that’s for sure. It feels like the partial season is not up to you, Lappi tells Urheilu.
According to Lap, it all depends on whether or not Hyundai will consider a full-season driver in the third car next season.
Team manager Cyril Abiteboul has said publicly that the team intends to delay the decision on its driver strategy until Toyota’s equivalent is known.
Hyundai’s driver situation for next season is Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänakia except open. Due to the team’s unclear situation, Neuville only signed a one-year contract extension with the team.
Those who shared a third car with Lapland With Andreas Mikkelsen and Dani Sordo there is no contract for next year yet. Neither of the drivers has driven a full season in the World Championship for years. The two haven’t performed significantly better in Lapland either.
Driver speculation is also influenced by how long Hyundai will continue in the World Series in general?
“I would wonder if it’s worth going there”
From other drivers to Hyundai’s third car is in talks had driven for the Turkish M-Sport all his World Cup career Adrien Fourmaux. The Frenchman has achieved strong results this season, although the British team’s car is known to be behind the equivalents of the factory garages.
Hyundai is just not necessarily an attractive option for future promises, as Fourmaux can still be read as. The Korean team recently announced that they will establish a new team track series on the WEC side. This has been seen as a signal that Hyundai would leave the rally.
As a brand, Hyundai is committed to the series until the end of the 2026 season, but it is not certain whether the factory team or a private garage will drive the cars in the 2026 season.
– Is it then an attractive option to leave (for Hyundai) elsewhere? Personally, I would at least think about it if I were a rising star, whether it is necessarily worth going there for a year, Lappi reflects on a general level.
Chile last race for Hyundai?
Despite everything, Lappi seems satisfied with his decision to retire as a part-time driver. He is giving an interview in the store of a motor sports company in Varkauta, of which he has been a partner for several years. The company’s own rally team RTE Motorsport is currently in second place in the rally SM series.
This year, another “part-time driver” also joined the company’s partners, ie Kalle Rovanperä. The reigning world champion has only driven individual World Cup rallies and said he enjoyed the increased free time.
Lapland has not had to regret its choice.
– It has felt good. I have been able to do quite a lot of the things I wanted to take a break for. The choice was absolutely right, I have no regrets, says Lappi.
The increased free time for driving has inevitably had an effect. After the World Rally Championship in Kenya in March, Lappi drove the next time only in Latvia, where the car’s settings and thus the speed were badly lost.
– The break before Latvia was long, it could have been shorter. Otherwise, it’s been a nice year.
For Lapland, the Jyväskylä World Cup Rally went under the bench until Friday’s unlucky outing. The pace was still on point, which bodes well for next week’s World Rally Championship in Chile.
The race is most likely the last of Lapland’s season and possibly the last of Hyundai’s career.
– We drove a test in Jämsä some time ago, and this way there won’t be such a long break from driving. You have to reach the finish line, but also get into the top three. That is the only goal, Lappi says.
The conditions in Chile should suit Lapland, even though last year the race went downhill at the very beginning. In Lapland’s opinion, smooth roads are nice to drive on.
– It’s surprisingly cool in Chile, the road surface is rough and the tire wear is severe after cleaning the loose gravel. The roads are fast, there are a lot of crossings and precise spots, Lappi describes.