Despite apparently retiring from full-time competition at the end of 2012, Loeb is currently one of the busiest men in motor sport. This year the nine-time WRC title-winner has already competed in the Dakar Rally – finishing second –, taken the Monte win, finished on the podium in Saudi Arabia for Lewis Hamilton’s X44 Extreme E team and has recently been announced for a one-off appearance at the opening round of this year’s DTM championship.
Speaking to Motor Sport after that incredible win in the Monaco mountains, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener articulated the effect of having a driver like Loeb in the team.
“I think when the team sees a name like Séb come into the ranks for one rally, it helps raise motivation without actually doing anything,” he said.
“They respect Séb – nine times champion, one of the most successful ever drivers in WRC, and he’s choosing to drive with us because he feels the car and the team that we’ve got can do the job he wants.”
“It was a bit like when Ogier came, it raised our performance overnight without actually changing anything, because people wanted to deliver.”