Paddon was "simply better", admits Ogier

As the points leader, Ogier spent the first three days of the rally opening the stages and trailed both Paddon and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala, before the latter retired from the lead.

Once driving on a cleaner road on Sunday, he beat Paddon by 27.2s in just two stages to minimise the gap between the two.

Although Ogier had won all three prior Power Stages in 2016, he was only third this time, 12 seconds behind Paddon, which meant he had to settle for second overall.

"It is not usually a good feeling for a driver to be beaten by an opponent," said the three-time champion.

"This time, however, it is easier to accept. Hayden and I had exactly the same conditions out on the route: he went absolutely all-out on the Power Stage, and was simply better. Respect for that performance.

"For me, this will serve as a great motivation to once again give it my all at the coming rallies, in order to get back on the top step of the podium. The stages were extremely difficult and rough, which is possibly why I did not risk everything.

"Second place is still a fantastic result for Julien [Ingrassia, co-driver] and me. We have extended our lead in the world championship standings."

Third time unlucky for Latvala

While Ogier extended his championship lead to 39 points, his teammate Latvala had his third non-score event in just four rounds.

Although the Finn was the overall leader from SS4 onwards, his lead was never bigger than 14.5s before he suffered a crash on Saturday and retired.

Having still stood 10th when he rejoined on Sunday, he was on course to take the final point-scoring position before suffering mechanical issues in the Power Stage.

"No question: to retire whilst leading is bitterly disappointing," the Finn claimed. "This is not what we had in mind for the Rally Argentina.

"We hit a rock on the 14th stage of the rally, which broke something on the car and ended up with us rolling. However, despite our disappointment, the priority [on Sunday] was to help the team.

"My mechanics put in a remarkable effort to get the Polo R WRC back in the rally, and I wanted to reward them for that with some manufacturer points. A track rod broke on the Power Stage, but we still made it to the finish."