Sebastien Loeb is fresh from winning his fourth WRC title. He is described as the Michael Schumacher of rallying because of his talent and the way he has dominated the sport. Although he has trailed for most of the season in the drivers’ championship, he stepped on the gas in the closing events of the WRC season to win the title with a four-point lead over Finland’s Marcus Gronholm. Recently, the French champion swapped cars with a Finn but not with Marcus.
He recently tried his hand on a Formula One car after swapping with Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen. The swap was done for a Total-Elf promotional event.
Loeb is a speed freak and of course, he loved the feeling of driving a Formula One car. "Today has been a fantastic experience; if I’m honest, it’s a little bit like Christmas come early!," said the champion. "I have just become a father for the first time, I won my fourth world title last weekend, and now a dream has come true: driving a Formula 1 car for the first time."
He added that he is very much impressed with the car’s aerodynamics saying: "I was very impressed with the grip generated by the aerodynamics, which is radically different from what we are used to in rallying. I already knew Paul Ricard well from my testing before Le Mans last year, so it meant I could really make the most of today’s opportunity. It was a truly exceptional day."
In rallying, they can make their cars jump over hills and stuffs which if you use an ordinary car, it would surely have some busted parts like the fuel tank for example. But in Formula One, they can’t do that, so let us see what Heikki has to say about his time in Loeb’s car.
"This was a wonderful day, and I had a great time driving Sebastien’s car," said Kovalainen. "I had previously been in this type of car as a co-driver, but this was miles better! I felt quite comfortable, even though the sensations are extremely different to what you feel in an F1 car. I talked a lot with Sebastien and Dani, and it was interesting to see how they controlled the car in the slow and high-speed corners, and learn from it. In return, I was able to give them some advice about the R26, and I hope they both enjoyed the experience."