Esapekka Lappi has announced that he will step away from professional rallying, bringing a temporary pause to a career that has seen him compete at the highest level of the World Rally Championship.
The 35-year-old Finnish driver, a two-time WRC rally winner and 15-time podium finisher, revealed his decision ahead of the final round of the Finnish Rally Championship. Lappi has made it clear that this is not necessarily a permanent goodbye, but for the time being, he does not plan to compete in either the WRC or the Finnish championship.
Lappi made his WRC debut in 2011 before making his breakthrough by winning the WRC2 title with Škoda Motorsport in 2016. A year later, he stepped up to the top class with Toyota and immediately made his mark by winning Rally Finland in front of his home crowd.
After successful and challenging periods with Toyota, Citroën and M-Sport Ford, Lappi returned to the WRC with Hyundai. His second career victory came at Rally Sweden in 2024, adding another memorable chapter to his career.
In 2025 and 2026, Lappi also enjoyed success in the Finnish Rally Championship, securing back-to-back national titles alongside co-driver Enni Mälkönen.
However, behind the decision to step away is a more personal reason. Lappi explained that rallying has given him an enormous amount throughout his career, but it has also required significant sacrifices from his family.
Despite stepping away from full-time competition, Lappi will remain involved in the sport by mentoring young Finnish driver Lauri Halonen as part of Škoda Motorsport Finland's development programme.
For now, Lappi is choosing to take a step back from professional rallying. Whether we will see him back behind the wheel at the highest level in the future remains uncertain — but, as he himself pointed out, this is not necessarily a final goodbye.
"I won’t say never again, because I’ve said that many times", Lappi said.
"But for the time being, I’m going to stop.
But for now, I’m taking a break until I say otherwise.
"At present, the plan is not to continue in the Finnish Rally Championship or any other series".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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