Esapekka Lappi found himself completely at sea on Friday morning at Rally Chile. The Finnish driver lost a full minute and a half to the leader over the first three special stages. As a result, he now sits ninth overall, with even sixth place more than a minute away. Any hope of fighting at the front has evaporated.
Lappi admitted his car was simply uncontrollable. "It's been very demanding in these conditions. It just feels like the car is the boss, not me," he said at the service break. "I cannot be in charge out there. And that's why it's impossible to be fast and commit to it."
This is not the first time Lappi has struggled with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. Earlier in Estonia he lacked pace, and in Finland he ended up in the forest. Now, with only a handful of stages remaining, his chances of salvaging a strong result look increasingly slim.
To make matters worse, Hyundai's other part-time driver, Hayden Paddon, finished an impressive second at the previous round in Paraguay. Lappi, who already has experience of Rally Chile, was expected to perform considerably better. "Hayden did exceptionally well on the last event without the seat time. He did some tests before the rally, while we came here straight from Finland. So that might be one thing," Lappi explained.
The Finn also pointed to the car's setup as a major issue. "I'm still not really used to this car and these tyres. But it's not the only thing. I just think the settings are such that if you push 100% and attack, then it works. But here you can't really do that. And if you attack at 85%, it doesn't work at all. That's the problem at the moment."
With the same three-stage loop set to be run again after the service break, Lappi must find answers quickly. Otherwise, Rally Chile could become another disappointing weekend for the driver who once finished third in Finland in 2021.
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