“I understand that he might be keen to stay at Citroen, it's thanks to Citroen he is where he is, but on the other hand if both he and I dominate the championship Ford could pull out - and that means Citroen might go as well, and then Ogier has lost everything,” said Loeb in an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe.
Loeb is currently leading the WRC standings ahead of Junior Team's Ogier, who has already been confirmed by Citroen's works team for the remaining gravel rallies of 2010. Recently, Loeb reckoned that his fellow countryman has become his main rival for the title – after his win in Portugal – hinting that Ogier may very well be regarded the future of the sport.
No matter if he chooses to stay at Citroen or move to Ford – we're talking about the works teams, obviously – neither of the existing members of those teams will be let go, as both Citroen's Olivier Quesnel and Ford's Malcolm Wilson revealed Ogier would be integrated into a 3-car effort for 2011.
“So his decision could be important for the future. Malcolm has done all he can to get him (Ogier). He has given him a good offer and over there he would certainly be number one,” added Loeb.
Obviously, his comments were not exactly echoed by his team principal Olivier Quesnel, who is now on the verge of losing one of the most – if not THE most – promising young rally drivers out there.
“The feeling is that I am the boss of Citroen Racing, so I decide. And next year we will do our best for those two objectives of the drivers' and manufacturers' championships. Anyway, I am confident we will keep (Sebastien) Ogier for next year,” said Quesnel.
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