Gronholm set to decide on future

The 39-year-old has made no secret of the fact that he has considered retiring, but he has remained tight-lipped on how likely it is that he will continue in the WRC next year.

The WRC season resumes this weekend after a two-month break, with Gronholm tipped as the favourite to win his home event for a seventh time this weekend.

"I wanted to use the break to think about it and after Rally Finland I will make a decision," Gronholm told Spanish newspaper AS.

The Finn admitted that he was not a fan of the length of the current WRC schedule, which features 16 rallies. However, from 2008 onwards, the season will only consist of 12 events.

"It's hard to quit when you are on top but it's very hard to be away from home all the time," he added.

"There are too many rallies and the ideal thing would be 12 or 14. But the reality is that since Carlos Sainz isn't here, nobody complains about those things."

Gronholm didn't rule out competing in the Dakar Rally in the future, as Sainz and Colin McRae have done in recent years.

"I think it's very dangerous because you run very fast on a road you don't know," he said. "I always say no, but you never know."