Can Sébastien Loeb win the Monte-Carlo?

Facts : A few days after his 2nd place behind Nasser Al-Attiyah in the Dakar, Sébastien Loeb is making a comeback in WRC. This weekend, the Alsatian will compete in Monte-Carlo with his brand new team M-Sport. At the wheel of the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, the nine-time champion will start the Monaco classic for the first time since 2020. In the meantime, the World Rally Championship has turned to hybrids and the competition has strengthened. What's enough to predict an eventful weekend, automatically ruling him out for victory?

YES, by Medhi Casaurang-Vergez

The two men hate to reduce their sporting stakes to a duel between Sébastien, yet the Monte-Carlo will undoubtedly revive the desire for comparison. Exceptional driver, Sébastien Loeb, former record holder for success in the winter event, ceded this unofficial title to the best driver in rally 2010 years, Sébastien Ogier, for a length. If there is nothing to confirm that the Alsatian will go for an eighth winner's trophy in the Principality, there is no shortage of reasons for hope.

First of all, the experience and know-how of a man like Sébastien Loeb, already extremely valuable at any round of the calendar, take on another dimension in the opening event of the season. The Monte-Carlo is described by its participants as one of the rallies, if not "the" rally, the most perilous to master, as there are so many pitfalls: night specials on Thursday (which has become almost anachronistic in 2022), winter conditions in the mountains (snow, patches of ice, mud in the event of a mild spell and a second special pass), but sometimes mild weather in the valleys which implies a difficult choice of tires. Only a pilot experienced in practice can win.

In addition, Sébastien Loeb's way of driving should suit the constraints linked to hybrid charging, the great novelty of the Rally1. If he uses his left foot to brake, he does not do so with his right foot permanently pressed on the accelerator. It should therefore not have too much difficulty in carrying out this process and regularly benefit from the additional power provided by this technology on the Ford Puma.

Then, the sequence between the Saudi Dakar and the Monte-Carl' constitutes a false problem. In 2019, a third place snatched in the Peruvian desert did not prevent him from jumping, a week later, into the seat of a Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC to launch an association with the South Korean manufacturer. Fourth after 16 specials while having occupied the last step of the podium on Saturday, the nine-time WRC world champion had nothing to envy in terms of physical and mental freshness compared to his (much) younger peers. A year later, the most famous rally-raid did not appear in its program. We might have expected Seb' to be up like a Swiss cuckoo, but no: he finished sixth thanks to a driving error in the last stage. This time, Loeb rushed to the south-east of France to do a day of driving as soon as he returned from a plane from Saudi Arabia, while dissecting the notes with his new co-driver, Isabelle Galmiche. At 47, Sébastien Loeb remains hungry!

© DPPI/B. Redhead

NO, by Gonzalo Forbes

We have to go back to Turkey in September 2020 and its 3rd place overall to find any trace of Sébastien Loeb in the World Rally Championship. Since then, the Alsatian has certainly not been idle, including two participations in the Dakar, but has remained far from the world rally environment.

For his return to the big leagues, Sébastien Loeb is keen to make an impression but an 8th victory in the Monaco classic seems difficult at the moment. First of all, the Frenchman arrives in a team that is completely new to him. Untouchable with Citroën, discreet with Hyundai, the one who comes off a podium at the Dakar will discover M-Sport for the first time in his career. The bet is audacious but the English structure is only a shadow of itself since its title in 2017 at the hands of Sébastien Ogier. To give an example, Malcolm Wilson's men have not tasted victory over the last three seasons, systematically finishing behind Toyota and Hyundai, the two ogres of the championship.

In addition to the poor results from M-Sport, Sébastien Loeb will have to deal with a new person in the right seat. Exit Daniel Elena and make way for Isabelle Galmiche. Although they rubbed shoulders during the recent tests, the duo will have their first racing experience together. With a new navigator on his right, the Alsatian could well need a few special stages, or even rallies, for the mayonnaise to take hold.

Finally, competition will also be there. Reigning world champion and latest winner at Monte-Carlo, Sébastien Ogier did not refuse the invitation from Toyota and will have the opportunity to aim for a 9th success there. In the same clan, we will have to count on Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä who both want to be No. 1 within Gazoo Racing. At Hyundai, the time has come for reaction. After a complicated year 2021, Thierry Neuville et Ott Tänak will want to show from the start that they are serious contenders, making Sébastien Loeb's task even more difficult.

So many reasons that make me think that Sébastien Loeb cannot win Monte-Carlo in 2022 unless Seb creates the first big surprise of the new WRC era.

ALSO READ > Isabelle Galmiche: “Sébastien Loeb knows my seriousness and my involvement”