WRC Rally Finland 2026: Ogier leads, problems for Neuville and Lappi

– Sebastien Ogier and his new, old co-driver Julien Ingrassia delivered a flawless performance and led the Rally Finland, the tenth round of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC), after an eventful loop on Friday morning.

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The Toyota duo Ogier/Ingrassia, who last competed together five years ago, quickly harmonized again, won three of the four fast gravel stages, and went into the midday service with a 5.3-second lead over Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux.

“I think there was a lot of risk for me in that,” said Ogier after the last stage of the loop. “I pushed hard and there were a few small scares. Honestly, we gave everything on every stage.”

Sebastien Ogier takes early command

The winner of Rally Estonia, Sami Pajari (Toyota), finished the loop in third place, 8.0 seconds behind the lead, while his teammate Oliver Solberg fought his way up to fourth place after incidents involving Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi (both Hyundai) as well as M-Sport Ford driver Jon Armstrong. (see results)

Ogier took command immediately on the 18.16-kilometer opening stage “Laukaa.” Although the Frenchman admitted he did not get a perfect start to the stage, he was 2.9 seconds faster than Fourmaux and Lappi, who shared the second fastest time.

That was enough to catapult Ogier to the top of the rally with a 1.7-second lead – a position he would hold for the rest of the loop. Pajari was the only other driver to secure a best time, winning the third stage.

Collision with stone sets Thierry Neuville back

Pajari moved up to second overall on the fourth special stage but fell 2.7 seconds behind the strong-running Fourmaux after the last stage of the loop.

“It was a fantastic morning, but I would have liked even more,” said Fourmaux. “Sometimes I was in the ruts, sometimes the line was extremely tricky. It definitely wasn’t easy this morning, but I’m satisfied.”

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Neuville was fully in the fight for the lead as fourth overall before hitting a stone hidden in the undergrowth on the fifth stage (“Hoho”). The impact severely damaged the front left suspension of his i20 N Rally1 and cost more than 1:30 minutes. There were fears that the 2024 world champion might not reach the service park, but he managed to bring the car back.

Home game for Lappi likely over after rollover

This was not the case for his teammate Lappi. The Finn had gotten off to a quick start and was in fifth overall before making a fatal mistake on the fourth stage.

Lappi lost the rear of the vehicle and went into a ditch, causing his i20 N Rally1 to roll over. It is considered unlikely that the damage to the car can be repaired during the ongoing rally.

As a result, Toyota driver Solberg climbed to fourth place, 11.8 seconds behind the lead. The Monte Carlo winner was still struggling to find the right feel in his first outing in a Rally1 car on Finnish roads.

Tough morning for Evans and Katsuta

The leader of the World Rally Championship, Elfyn Evans (Toyota), ended the morning in fifth overall, 14.1 seconds behind Ogier, after briefly ending up in the bushes on the last stage.

Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) experienced a difficult loop with persistent understeer and oversteer and reached the service in sixth place, 27.4 seconds behind the lead.

M-Sport Ford drivers Mārtins Sesks and Josh McErlean completed the field of remaining Rally1 cars in seventh and eighth place respectively. Teammate Armstrong was less fortunate: his day ended after he landed in a ditch with his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 on the third stage. Spectators tried to recover the stranded car, but the Northern Irishman could not continue the loop.

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