After only three events together as a new crew, Paddon and British co-driver Seb Marshall celebrated their first podium finish earlier this month, confirming their partnership is working well, which is important heading into the high-speed, high-adrenaline Finnish round.
Paddon described the Polish result as ''a huge reset'' mentally.
''This year has been hugely difficult for me for many reasons and, while the performances started to come back over the last couple of events, we were not able to stitch the whole thing together. So now with the shoulders a bit lower, we can move forward to the final five events of the year with more confidence and, hopefully, get up on that podium more often,'' Hyundai Motorsport's Paddon said.
Starting with a street stage tomorrow and covering 25 stages and 315 competitive kilometres, Rally Finland is famous for its blisteringly fast gravel roads and massive jumps among summery green forests and lakes.
Paddon is competing there for the eighth time, making it the rally in which he has the most experience in the world, including New Zealand.
It is Marshall's sixth Rally Finland and he describes it as an event he knows well and enjoys, although there are some challenges with which co-drivers have to contend.
''I'm grateful to have experienced it for the first time in a WRC car last year, so I know what to expect. It's tempting to stop reading the notes when the car takes off on the jumps but there's no time for that!
''The speeds we're going mean you'll be late with the next pacenote, so you need to keep reading and brace for landing - the skill is trying not to talk on touch down as this can wind you,'' Marshall said.
His seventh place in the WRC drivers' standings means Paddon starts the Saturday leg seventh on the road, which should give him the advantage of not sweeping the roads as the frontrunners will have to do.
''Like always it will depend on the weather. Of course we are hoping for dry weather to make the most of our position, but the Finnish summer can throw all sorts of weather at you,'' Paddon said.
