The team pricipal of Hyundai Motorsport, Cyril Abiteboul, says that Esapekka Lappi's future will be finalized in the next few days as the Koreans believe that he was a key person to their system in 2023.
The Finn driver left Toyota at the end of 2022 as Hyundai offered him a full-season programme for this year. EP was fighting for the rally lead in three occasions (Rally Sweden, Rally Mexico, Rally Italia Sardegna) and finished four times in the podium positions so far (Croatia Rally, Rally de Portugal, Rally Italia Sardegna, Rally Estonia), but he has not won an event with Hyundai yet. However, it must be mentioned that Thierry Neuville had said that Lappi's feedback on car development was very crucial as he recommended a different suspension set-up to what Ott Tanak recommended in 2022, but the most important thing is that he had driven a rival car which was the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. With one round remaining for the season finale, EP is aiming to deliver a good result for his team while it is hinted that he may join Toyota next year.
"Esapekka was very much key to the system this year and really important and he has been delivering some of the very positive moments in the team this year", Abiteboul said.
"I like to think that he can be a part of what we do for the future and not just next year.
"It has been a discussion that has been going on between us for a while and I hope we can bring that to a conclusion in the next few days.
"I think it is about trying to understand what he wants and making sure we can deliver him what he wants and I'm not talking about money".
Source: Motorsport.com
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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