Ferm’s professional career came to an end last weekend at Rally Chile. After the event, Ferm faced the media and announced his retirement as Esapekka Lappi’s co-driver.
Ferm, 44, had considered retiring earlier.
“It was already on the table last year. But then “EP” said, ‘If we do half the season, is that okay?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s okay.’ But now it’s time to move on,” Ferm explains.
Lappi and Ferm lost their seat in the WRC’s top class for the 2021 season. During that “gap year,” Ferm adjusted to a more regular family life. Now, a few years later, the decision to retire has become final.
According to Ferm, the global travel became exhausting over time, but the decision to retire was the result of several factors.
“At first, doing part-time felt good, but eventually, being a spectator and everything I love about rallying—I still love it. This year, I’ve had the chance to watch rallies, and it has been a blast. It’s amazing to see people doing absolutely incredible things with the cars. I’ve been privileged to sit in a WRC car and experience that. But now I have a family, so I want to spend more time with them.”
Ferm described his last WRC rally as part of Hyundai’s factory team as memorable and emotional, even though the Finnish duo’s race went terribly wrong. After announcing his retirement, Ferm was whisked from interview to interview, and the team also honoured the Finnish co-driver.
“When we got back to the service bay and everyone was there, it was an emotional moment. It was very emotional. I didn’t think it would be like that, but oh my God.”
Ferm doesn’t yet have clear plans for what he’ll do next. One possibility could be helping young talents, but even that isn’t in the immediate future.
“To be fair, I have no idea. At the moment, I have no plans. I have to just chill out for a moment and, then we will see.”
“But for sure, I’ll be spectating at Rally Finland next year,” Ferm adds, laughing loudly.
Ferm and Lappi achieved two WRC victories together. The first came in 2017 at Rally Finland, and the second this past winter in Sweden. However, Ferm doesn’t consider these wins the most significant moments of his career.
“Probably what is affecting most was when I met EP for the first time. After that, we’ve been in the ‘marriage’ for 15 years. Okay, the marriage isn’t ending. We are just like they say— living in separate apartments after this,” Ferm jokes.
And does he regret anything from his career? Ferm has a clear answer to that.
“You can’t regret. Life is too short for that.”
