Would Loeb be a mistake for Citroen?

The last decade had disappeared. Gone. In the blink of an eye, we were back at the heart of Citroen's total control of the World Rally Championship as Sebastien Loeb and technical types Didier Clement and Christophe Besse locked themselves into a conversation about how to make their car faster.

There was less hair for some and more grey for others, but the relationship remained just as it had been back in the days of the Xsara WRC morphing into a C4 WRC in a seamless stream of success. Earlier this week in the hills high above the Costa Brava, there was feeling that Citroen had reached back into its past to take a step forward into the future.

On the road up from Barcelona, I found myself questioning the sense in Loeb's return. By his own admission it's been more than four years since he drove a World Rally Car on gravel. Since departing the WRC full-time at the end of 2012, Loeb's been going around in circles in cars that bear little resemblance or relevance to a 2017 World Rally Car.

By the time I got to the test, I'd convinced myself Loeb wasn't the answer for Citroen. It would be nice to see him again, good to catch up on a bit of World Rallycross and Dakar chatter, but a WRC return? No. Look forwards, not backwards.

I was also slightly sceptical of Loeb's motivation for getting back behind the wheel of a World Rally Car and his commitment when he got there.

When his first test was originally announced back in July, much was made of a new, all-inclusive approach from the PSA Group: a Peugeot driver such as Loeb would now be more than welcome behind the wheel of a Citroen or DS. Some change that from when he was hoofed out of Versailles and sought refuge across Paris in Velizy; blue and red certainly didn't mix at the end of 2015.

"I'd convinced myself Loeb wasn't the answer for Citroen. Look forwards, not backwards"

Just weeks after Loeb lost his World Touring Car Championship seat with Citroen, I was sitting in a Peugeot 208 road car in a car park on the outskirts of Paris. Loeb had just completed the final roll out in his 2008 DKR ahead of his maiden Dakar.

Could he see a return to Citroen then? At the time Loeb told me: "They didn't want to continue because I do Dakar, so it was a question of image between Citroen and Peugeot. Now I am full-time with Peugeot, it would be complicated in the same way to go back to do something with Citroen.

"I don't think it's possible to compete with a rally car [again]."

He was resolute. Reluctant to really stick the knife into the team he'd won his nine titles with, he seemed happy to tickle the blade between the ribs.

It was incredible to think that, just a few years earlier, then PSA CEO Jean-Marc Gales said of Loeb: "His relation to Citroen is symbiotic. I always say Sebastien Loeb and Citroen is like Paris and the Eiffel Tower - they belong together."

Looks like Loeb and the PSA Group's holistic approach are the new Paris and Eifel Tower.

And that's the reason we're here: Loeb wanted a shot in the C3 to see if he'd still got what it takes. Gales' replacement Carlos Tavares was more than happy to oblige. And so was Citroen team principal Yves Matton, once Tavares had told him that was the plan...

One of my concerns was that a dabbling Loeb could be dangerous. Let's be honest, Citroen's WRC future hangs right in the balance now and distractions in development aren't going to help get the C3 back on track and restore confidence in a once great rallying force.

Then I got to the test, talked to the team, climbed a hill and watched the world's fastest Alsatian do his thing in a car he'd never driven on the loose before and I began to understand what an asset Loeb could be.

Kris Meeke has always said he wanted another frontline driver in the car. Andreas Mikkelsen helped, but Loeb is potentially in a different league. He understands what makes Citroen tick and no driver commands more respect from the Parisian manufacturer. It would be stupid for Citroen not to make use of the man that made it famous in rallying.

But what does that mean?

Loeb's not about to jump into a full R&D programme alongside Meeke, but he still has plenty to offer in terms of feel, speed, experience and ability and seeing him debriefing after every suspension and geometry change made really brought that home.

"Dakar finishes on Saturday and the recce for Monte starts on Monday. It would be complicated. [But] it could be done" Sebastien Loeb

And the effect on the team was similarly uplifting. Confidence is on the floor at Citroen right now and Loeb's return has clearly put smiles back on faces. And this is no slight on the combined input of Meeke, Craig Breen and Stephane Lefebvre - those boys simply don't have the history Loeb has with those wearing the chevrons on their sleeves.

Loeb's development input offers options, a different way of looking at things and another solution; having him onboard isn't going to make the C3 WRC slower. And it didn't take long to understand just how insulting it would to suggest giving Loeb a go in the car would distract the boys.

As Besse said: "This team didn't win 17 world titles in 10 years by accident..."

Factor in the potential PR coming out of a 'Loeb back for Monte' story and you start to understand how this could work.

So will it happen?

No. Not full-time. That's pretty much certain. Last week, all I could get out of Loeb was the potential for a couple of events - one of which he would love to be Monte Carlo. But...

"Dakar finishes on Saturday and the recce for Monte starts on Monday," he says. "It would be complicated."

But it could be done?

"It could be done."

A Loeb return, for me, hinges on two things: Peugeot's investment in its 208 RX Supercar and the potential for Sebastien Ogier to sign with Citroen for next year's WRC.

Loeb's priority is rallycross. He hasn't achieved what he wants in World RX yet and, providing Peugeot and the Hansen team can put together a potential Volkswagen-beater in 2018 that's where his priority will lie.

"If we continue in RX and make it serious then this will be my main programme and this is what I'm hoping for," says Loeb.

"Nothing is decided for rallying. I have tested the car, for the rest, let's see. If I stay in rallycross with Peugeot then, why not one or two rallies with Citroen?"

As for the Ogier question, that's a different matter. The last time the two were in a team in 2011, it ended in the most public of divorces and both Sebastiens are keen to know each other's plans for next season. Loeb neatly sidesteps any questions about Ogier's progress, pointing out that he hasn't watched enough of the WRC to offer an informed perspective.

That said, listening to Loeb, you get the feeling there's tolerance from him. The bigger question is whether Ogier, as a returning Citroen full-timer, would be willing to share the limelight and run the risk of being cast into a returning shadow from season's past?

Both drivers have moved on and seem to get on these days. But there's moving on and getting on and there's being Citroen team-mates again. A Sebastien or two could work well for the C3 WRC. Or it could blow up in Yves Matton's face.

We've moved on to a wider question.

You wanted to know if I thought Citroen should sign Loeb and if it was likely. The answer is yes. And yes and no.