Ogier Has "No Worries" With Fill In Driver.

Sébastien Ogier has no concerns about Julien Ingrassia stepping in as his co-driver after nearly five years away from the World Rally Championship, following Vincent Landais' sudden withdrawal from Rally Finland due to personal reasons. As a duo, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia participated in 196 rallies, progressing from the entry-level Volant Peugeot series as young newcomers to the peak of the sport: winning the World Rally Championship eight times.

Ingrassia hasn’t participated in a rally as a co-driver since they secured their last world title together in late 2021, although he has occasionally competed as a driver. Ogier and Ingrassia are currently conducting a pre-event test together, and the nine-time world champion believes his former long-term navigating partner hasn't lost any of his skills. “Obviously, at a time like this, all our thoughts are with Vincent and his family,” said Ogier. “They’re facing a challenging situation, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for him not to be here this week. “However, I’m very pleased that Julien accepted my invitation to come back and do a one-off with me in Finland. It’s not the easiest rally in the championship, but in some ways, it’s also one of the most thrilling. So from that perspective, it’ll be nice to do another rally with Julien.

“I have no concerns about his ability to call the notes. Now, it's up to me to do my part and aim for a big result. Even though Ingrassia has been away from co-driving for a while, Ogier was confident they would quickly get back into their rhythm – and their initial runs together indicate just that. “I never doubted Julien's ability to read the notes,” said Ogier. “From our first test run, it was clear that all those instincts and routines were still intact. Of course, it will be challenging for him after five years away from rallying at this level. But together, I believe we’ll handle it.

“Despite the circumstances not being what we would have preferred this week, it remains a nice story. We are sending a lot of strength to Vincent and his family during this challenging time. From my perspective, it’s certainly pleasant to have Julien with me again.” Ingrassia thinks that having Landais, the co-driver he is replacing, is advantageous due to the similarities in style between Ogier’s two world championship-winning co-drivers.

“I’ll always remember the first thing Séb said about Vincent,” Ingrassia recalled.

“At that time, I was working for Canal+ during the first Monte Carlo event where Séb was with Vincent, and I was there as a pundit. He got out of the car and said: ‘He’s like your little brother. He works the same way, he has the same voice.’ So, in terms of what Séb needs from a co-driver, I don’t think much has changed. We haven’t suddenly reinvented the way of doing things.” Although he agreed to Ogier’s request on the same day, Ingrassia admitted he hesitated slightly to replace Landais, given it was at the fastest round of the WRC season and with such short notice.

“I didn’t hesitate for long when Séb called me,” said Ingrassia. “It was short notice, and it was Finland, so I needed a moment to consider it because you have to commit fully to something like this. However, you must not allow any doubt. You can’t show even the slightest fear to the driver. “So I took an hour or two to think it over, as it’s a significant change. Just 24 hours earlier, I was at a festival dancing, so I had to switch back into rally mode!”