Formula 1

Loeb thinks he's too old for F1 switch now

Sebastien Loeb has played down speculation he could follow up his all-conquering world rally career with a stint in Formula One. Just as F1's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was deciding to switch to the world rally championship late last year, ...

GMM

Published: Nov 23, 2010, 10:43 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Sebastien Loeb has played down speculation he could follow up his all-conquering world rally career with a stint in Formula One.

Just as F1's 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was deciding to switch to the world rally championship late last year, seven-time consecutive WRC title winner Frenchman Loeb was eyeing his Grand Prix debut.

But the 36-year-old has now told CNN that is it "too late" for him to seriously consider switching to Formula One.

"I don't think it's (a) potential for the future," said Loeb.

But he revealed he came close to driving for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi last year.

Loeb said "everything was planned to do the last race of the season and the FIA didn't give me the licence for that".

"Now I'm 36 years old and when you see some young drivers coming in, they're 20 years old, so maybe's it's a bit too late.

"If I have the opportunities to drive a Formula One car, for sure I will take it, but I've got no plan to do a career in that," he added.

Loeb will rally again in 2011, but he is not sure what he will do beyond that.

"I will maybe have some other plans, but not especially in Formula One," he said.

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article HRT seat to cost de la Rosa millions

Next article Sauber F1 interview with Sergio Perez

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 5 h

Manthey acknowledges IMSA to be "tougher than expected" despite two wins

How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 5 h

How a philosophy shift brought BMW to new heights in 2026

Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

5 h

Fred Vasseur reveals two costly moments that denied Ferrari US GP double podium

Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship

ARCA

ARCA ARCA 7 h

Cleetus McFarland set to compete full-time for 2027 ARCA championship

Feature

Discover prime content

A strategic masterclass: How Kimi Antonelli put himself on the cusp of F1 title at the US GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

A strategic masterclass: How Kimi Antonelli put himself on the cusp of F1 title at the US GP

How Verstappen and Antonelli were both “surprised” in United States GP qualifying

Formula 1

United States GP

By Stuart Codling

How Verstappen and Antonelli were both “surprised” in United States GP qualifying

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Formula 1

United States GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 United States GP

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Formula 1

United States GP

By Ronald Vording

Max Verstappen’s words explained: Why Red Bull’s turnaround is so different this time

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts