Sebastian Loeb, the newly crowned F1 World Champion and Heikki Kovalainen of Renault F1 Team swapped places and cars for the day as part of an Elf Fuel day.
This gave the Rally World Champion the opportunity to drive an f1 car for the first time. He took an R26 through its paces at Paul Ricard Circuit in France.
Meanwhile, Heikki Kovalainen got the opportunity to drive the champion car, the Citroen C4, with Loeb co-driving.
“Today has been a fantastic experience; if I’m honest, it’s a little bit like Christmas come early! I have just become a father for the first time, I won my fourth world title last weekend, and now a dream has come true: driving a Formula One car for the first time.” Loeb said after driving the car,
“I was very impressed with the grip generated by the aerodynamics, which is radically different from what we are used to in rallying. I already knew Paul Ricard well from my testing before Le Mans last year, so it meant I could really make the most of today’s opportunity. It was a truly exceptional day.”
Kovalainen added “This was a wonderful day, and I had a great time driving Sebastien’s car. I had previously been in this type of car as a co- driver, but this was miles better!
“I felt quite comfortable, even though the sensations are extremely different to what you feel in an F1 car. I talked a lot with Sebastien and Dani, and it was interesting to see how they controlled the car in the slow and high-speed corners, and learn from it.
“In return, I was able to give them some advice about the R26, and I hope they both enjoyed the experience.”
