Loeb: Latvala as fast as Gronholm

Reigning champion Loeb was expected to dominate this year's World Rally Championship after Gronholm's retirement, as Gronholm had been Loeb's sole regular challenger in recent years.

But Latvala - promoted from the satellite Stobart team to take Gronholm's seat - won in Sweden and pushed Loeb hard in Mexico.

Although it is the consistent Hirvonen who currently leads the championship, Loeb said he sees Latvala as the greater threat.

"Latvala has proved to be faster than Mikko and also as fast as Marcus, if not faster," the champion told Motorsport News.

"I had to give everything I had in Mexico to beat [Latvala] and it was just like the close battles I used to have with Marcus."

Loeb dismission any suggestion that Hirvonen, who has finished in the top four on every round so far but has yet to fight for a victory in 2008, was struggling to adapt to his position as team leader at Ford.

"I don't think anything has changed with Mikko," Loeb said. "He was not as quick as Marcus last year and now he is not as quick as Jari-Matti.

"When I took over [at the head of the Citroën team] I never thought about [the responsibility] when I was in the car. I just drove as fast as I could, which is what you have to do when you are the number one driver."