He’s won the World Rally Championship a remarkable six times on the trot and has made light work of the world’s toughest roads. But how will Sébastien Loeb deal with the bumps and ditches presented by The Red Bulletin’s Interrogator…?
Loeb has won nearly twice as many World Championship rallies as any other driver in the sport’s history [54], but is really not into superstardom. He is constantly bemused by people picking over the minutiae of his genius, insisting that his life is actually quite mundane. Nothing could be further from the truth…
Are you the best driver that has ever lived, in any form of motorsport?
That’s not for me to say. The truth is that you can’t compare drivers – or really any sportsmen – from different eras. There are too many variables. And however good you are, you can always be better. So, in a word, no.
Are you disappointed that you just missed out on being a grand prix driver?
Not really. In the end it was always only going to be a bit of fun. I never had any big ambitions in F1: the chance to drive in a grand prix was just a present from Red Bull as a one-off. Look, I was under no illusions: I’m about a second a lap off the pace in a racing car. In F1 it would have been more.
Isn’t it about time you stopped winning?
No. I don’t think I’d ever get bored of it. Would you? When I get bored, I’ll stop. That won’t be for a while.
Can you cook?
Of course I can – I’m French. My specialities are ready meals and anything out of a tin. But actually the one thing I can cook properly is rib of beef. It’s my favourite food. Saignant [bloody], of course. The last thing you want is your meat cooked through.
'There used to be two or three people turning up at my house every day and a sackload of mail, some of it normal, some of it mad'
Do you like frogs’ legs?
I think I last had them about 10 years ago. They’re a very French thing, I know, but we really don’t eat them often – whatever you might think.
Can you get on the Metro in Paris without people recognising you?
Sometimes, but generally it might be tricky. I wouldn’t say that being famous is a problem, because it’s recognition of your success and a sign that you’ve done well in the sport, but let’s say that you do have to change certain aspects of your life to deal with that situation.
What’s your most annoying habit?
There are a few that I could list, and probably many more that everybody else could, but my worst one is probably being late. Especially in the morning.
Have you ever had a stalker?
Not recently, but I’ve come across a few in the past. It’s much less the case now that I’m living in Switzerland than it was before, when I lived in France. Back then, there used to be two or three people turning up at my house every day and a sackload of mail, some of it normal, some of it mad. I once saw one fan pop up in my garden.
What’s your address?
Nice try.
You used to be a child gymnast: can you still pop a somersault?
Easily.
Read more of Loeb's tangle with the Interrogator in this month’s Red Bulletin magazine by reading the online version or downloading a pdf at the Red Bulletin archive.
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