Sebastien Ogier Takes Lead After SS2 at WRC Finland 2026

Sebastien Ogier moved into the lead of WRC Finland 2026 after setting the fastest time on SS2 Laukaa, the first full forest stage of Friday and one run in the opposite direction compared with last year.

Elfyn Evans opened the road and initially established the benchmark despite having to sweep loose gravel. The championship leader admitted it was difficult to find a rhythm as grip levels changed considerably throughout the stage, ranging from strong traction to sections that felt extremely slippery.

Ogier then became the first driver to beat Evans, going 4.8 seconds faster. The Toyota driver admitted his run was not perfect and felt there were areas where he could have executed better, although the pace was enough to move him to the top of the overall classification.

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For Hyundai Motorsport, Adrien Fourmaux and Esapekka Lappi set identical times and emerged as Ogier’s closest challengers on the stage. Lappi even felt his run had been poor, although the stopwatch showed a clear step forward from his struggles at Rally Estonia.

“I actually thought it was a poor run. In Estonia the driving felt good but the times didn’t. Now it’s the opposite. I’ll happily take that,” Lappi said.

Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg also reported inconsistent grip, while Takamoto Katsuta struggled with understeer. The mixed feedback underlined how demanding Laukaa proved for almost the entire field at the start of Friday.

WRC Finland 2026 still features seven more forest stages on Friday before the crews return to Harju to conclude the day, with Ogier leading but the margins at the front remaining extremely tight.