The Finnish driver claimed no fewer than three rally victories and numerous podium finishes during the season.
His consistent performances were ultimately rewarded with the first top-class World Championship medal of his career as Pajari finished third in the standings.
There was still some room for what-ifs, as Pajari was on course for silver before the final round of the season, only for team-mate Oliver Solberg to move ahead of him by a single point.
Pajari regards the season as a success. He celebrated the first top-class victory of his career in Estonia, while Solberg was the only other driver to claim three rally wins over the course of the season.
At the same time, the 24-year-old Finn admits the strong results came through all-round development rather than any single change.
“It’s really difficult for me to identify any one thing that changed so significantly. I suppose there has been progress in every area.”
“When you improve a little everywhere, the whole package just starts to come together better. They are quite small things,” Pajari said.
However, the development work is still far from complete, even though Pajari remained in the title fight until the end of the season. He can immediately identify one clear area for improvement.
“Perhaps it’s about taking more risks in certain situations. We’ve had rallies where Estonia is a good example. We took our first victory there and were clearly the fastest throughout the weekend.”
“We also need to find more outright pace, but there are situations where you sometimes have to take even crazy risks.”
“Sometimes they pay off, so perhaps I need to learn to take crazy risks in a controlled way,” Pajari reflected.