Citroen WRT

[EstWRC]

im reeaaaaallllyyyy curious to know what exactly was going on there between Toyota and Lappi but i have understood that you guys wont share it.



But yeah, when talking about Lappi, horrible season so far, 3 retirements out of 7 races, last in the standings out of the drivers who are doing a full season.

Last year Breen had also 34 points after 7 rounds, but the difference is that Breen had to skip two events because of Loeb whilst Lappi has done all the rounds.

I really hope he gets back on track soon, i like the dude a lot, great humour and talent, you dont win a rally only on your 4th event without talent.

But it seems he is mentally in a really bad place at the moment. All the time in a bad mood. Fingers crossed it changes.

[er88]

Problem for Lappi is Citroen are a historically hard team for drivers to fit in/feel comfortable with. McRae, Duval, Hirvonen, Mattons management of Meeke (telling him to push for wins on every rally despite the car issues) , Quesnel's management of the Ogier/Loeb fiasco that cost them numerous titles, and now Lappi.

Nobody can deny the success the team has had in the past and statistically they're the best team ever, but Loeb drove that success. This is also not the same Citroen and I don't feel Lappi will get enough love at the team - Ogier is king there atm. When Makinen went cold on Lappi, Esapekka started getting moodier and good results became harder and harder to find. That's continued at Citroen and he's not showing any real pace and still crashing - Sweden aside (although if we count Mknights logic he crashed in Sweden too).

He's clearly very naturally talented and has time on his side, but I don't trust Citroen to help or support him enough. He either has to sort himself out or he'll be in a bit of trouble given Citroen's history....

[Eli]

Problem for Lappi is Citroen are a historically hard team for drivers to fit in/feel comfortable with. McRae, Duval, Hirvonen, Mattons management of Meeke (telling him to push for wins on every rally despite the car issues) , Quesnel's management of the Ogier/Loeb fiasco that cost them numerous titles, and now Lappi.

Nobody can deny the success the team has had in the past and statistically they're the best team ever, but Loeb drove that success. This is also not the same Citroen and I don't feel Lappi will get enough love at the team - Ogier is king there atm. When Makinen went cold on Lappi, Esapekka started getting moodier and good results became harder and harder to find. That's continued at Citroen and he's not showing any real pace and still crashing - Sweden aside (although if we count Mknights logic he crashed in Sweden too).

He's clearly very naturally talented and has time on his side, but I don't trust Citroen to help or support him enough. He either has to sort himself out or he'll be in a bit of trouble given Citroen's history....

There's always room in M-Sport though, no?

[dnb]

There's always room in M-Sport though, no?

Suninen and mby Greensmith or somebody young. Or maybe even Tänak, these rumours... Evans to Toyota then?

[er88]

Msport would depend on if Evans gets poached - if Citroen go 3 cars he's an option (even an option if they dont & Lappi continues to struggle). Adamo will probably look to make changes at Hyundai with Mikkelsen not fancied for a whole season + question marks over how Sordo and Loeb can be effectively rotated. Otherwise you end up rotating 3 drivers with nobody besides Neuville getting a full season. Toyota could also be interested in Evans, maybe if Tommi thinks after three years Jari has had his time & Kalle doesn't seem ready? Meeke will be safe unless he crashes a lot and doesn't bring good results for the 2nd half of the season.

If Evans stays, Wilson said he'd only want to sign a championship challenger or words to that effect, which basically only means Tanak.

Still a long way to go, but Breen, Ostberg and Paddon will be looking to get back in, and Mikkelsen, Lappi and Jari aren't having the best of times and could be out of a drive or look to move on themselves. Jari seems to have got his performance back though which is important - he finished 2nd half of last year strong so there's no reason he can't do it again now his confidence is back.

[RS]

There's always room in M-Sport though, no?

Well Malcolm does like a Finn and seems pretty patient with his drivers. I’d take Lappi over Suninen for sure given the choice.

[Gregor-y]

There's always room in M-Sport though, no?

For the WRC if you have the cash they have the car. Can't say that about any of the others at the moment.

[Rally Power]

All this fuss around Lappi seems a bit pointless. He has a 2 year contract and Citroen is not fighting for the manus title. OK, he’s failing to help Ogier but that’s not a reason to fire him; besides it’s hard to believe that Ostberg or Breen could be helpful wingmen at this point. Anyway, in Finland (if not already in Sardinia) he’ll hopefully return to his best. Fingers crossed!

[Eli]

All this fuss around Lappi seems a bit pointless. He has a 2 year contract and Citroen is not fighting for the manus title. OK, he’s failing to help Ogier but that’s not a reason to fire him; besides it’s hard to believe that Ostberg or Breen could be helpful wing-men at this point. Anyway, in Finland (if not already in Sardinia) he’ll hopefully return to his best. Fingers crossed!

I'm not saying Lappi will (or even should) get sacked by Citroen, but ATM, if Citroen are serious to take any championship, they'll (or should I say Ogier) need better back up from Lappi for the second half of this season.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Another mistake by Lappi, rolling the C3 in Portugal. He must be under big pressure now.

Lappi confirms my thought:

https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/june...1--12-12-.html