Hiring a driver is not as simple as "this is the best performing driver out there". It's about getting a "package" and being there at the right place at the right time. Lappi has been with the team before, they know they can work together and he has a promising future. Also, he made contact to the team as early as after Arctic Rally Finland. We don't know whether Mikkelsen had his eggs in the basket of M-Sport all the time or started negotiating only later? Also, Lappi is still under the wings of Even Management but does Mikkelsen now manage himself? Finally, Mikkelsen's Hyundai career could have hurt his reputation, when he made quite many mistakes and had rallies where he was out of pace (also on gravel), whereas one could have expected him to be on a rally-winning level having been at VW's team for many years.