Sebastian Loeb has made no secret his desire to pilot a Formula 1 car in the near future. With the Frenchman testing a Red Bull chassis earlier this year, speculation has grown as to whether he would make the switch from his current WRC job. Loeb is on the brink of losing the title for the first time in five years and has expressed his interest in trying other things on more than one occasion.
With the oppurtunity to pilot an STR at the season ending GP in Abu Dhabi still remains, Loeb is currently looking for an outfit that would allow him to race in Formula 1 when WRC is off. So he turned to the new US based team and Peter Windsor as a possibility. However, Sebastian needs to realize that this is a team that is serious about performing and will probably not be bothered by somebody who is not entirely commited to the sport. Besides, he does not even match the criteria the team are looking for. They are currently searching for one expirienced F1 pilot and a US rookie to join the team. Loeb is neither one of these and will likely be overlooked. The only reason that comes to mind is the potential for a commercial value. Having a five time WRC champion drive for you may be good for the sponsorship and interest, but it is highly unlikely that the team will pick him up as they already have firm backing from the founder of Youtube.
Loeb is also about to extend his Citroen deal until the 2012 season and that would factor in to be a problem for a team that is serious about putting together a competitive car and displaying US technology. While Windsor has confirmed that contact was made about a job, he would not get into the specifics of the call. This is more than likely another silly season rumor that will be nothing more than that.
Hmm… I’ll believe it when I see it, personally. If he does move to F1, his complete lack of competitiveness will be a hard pill for him to swallow given how dominant he’s been in WRC.