Sebastien Loeb has played down speculation he could follow up his all-conquering world rally career with a stint in formula one.

Just as F1′s 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen was deciding to switch to the world rally championship late last year, seven-time consecutive WRC title winner Frenchman Loeb was eyeing his grand prix debut.

But the 36-year-old has now told CNN that is it “too late” for him to seriously consider switching to formula one.

“I don’t think it’s (a) potential for the future,” said Loeb.

But he revealed he came close to driving for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi last year.

Loeb said “everything was planned to do the last race of the season and the FIA didn’t give me the licence for that”.

“Now I’m 36 years old and when you see some young drivers coming in, they’re 20 years old, so maybe’s it’s a bit too late.

“If I have the opportunities to drive a formula one car, for sure I will take it, but I’ve got no plan to do a career in that,” he added.

Loeb will rally again in 2011, but he is not sure what he will do beyond that.

“I will maybe have some other plans, but not especially in formula one,” he said.

Kimi Raikkonen has once again refused to shed any light on his plans for 2011.

It is expected that the 2007 world champion intends to stay at least another year in the world rally championship.

But Citroen recently announced that Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier are staying put, without mentioning the future of Finn Raikkonen, who has also been linked with a return to formula one.

When asked on Thursday ahead of the Finnish rally if there is any news about his plans, the 30-year-old answered: “No, not yet. We have some decisions to make and I haven’t done that yet.

“I can honestly say that I do not know,” he added in a separate interview.

FIA president Jean Todt told Turun Sanomat newspaper that he respects Raikkonen’s decision last year to move to rallying.

“When he wanted a new challenge, it was very courageous to pick rally. But F1 is a constant pressure so I can understand why Kimi wanted to do something else,” said the Frenchman.

“What I can say is that if the reigning champion Jenson Button, or whoever wins this year’s title should go to rallying, he would not be at the same level of Kimi in their first season,” added Todt.

Both Raikkonen and Todt refused to comment on the Ferrari team orders scandal.

“I’m not in formula one, so I don’t care what’s happening there,” said the Finn.

And Todt added: “We will deal with it in due course, but I don’t want to talk about F1 now.”

Norbert Haug has insisted he is not concerned about Michael Schumacher’s latest motorcycle outing.

According to the Cologne tabloid Express, the seven time world champion this week rented the Dijon-Prenois circuit in France in order to privately ride his 190 horse power Honda CBR 1000 Fireblade.

Also riding at the track were the 41-year-old’s friends including Luca Badoer and Sebastien Loeb.

Schumacher had to call off his intended return to F1 last year because he was still recovering from injuries sustained in a motorcycle testing crash.

But Haug, Mercedes’ competition boss, said he is not worried the same thing might reoccur.

“Michael can deal with the risk, and so can we,” Haug is quoted as saying.

Express also reported that Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn is this week on a four-day fishing vacation in Norway.

Jun.9 (GMM)  F1 is unlikely to consider three-car team entries while the grid is already healthily subscribed.

That is the insistence of FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh, amid Ferrari’s continuing enthusiasm about entering a third Maranello built car for a driver like Valentino Rossi.

Rossi, however, broke his leg in a MotoGP practice crash last Saturday, and now Whitmarsh has revealed that the issue of three cars has not recently been discussed by the F1 teams association.

“It’s really an idea if you get a reduced number of teams,” said the McLaren boss.

Ferrari is a staunch critic of F1′s struggling new teams, but Whitmarsh insists that FOTA wants the entire current grid to “develop and flourish”.

“McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes would all probably be happy to have a third car, but I think in fairness to the smaller teams it would only disadvantage them further,” he explained.

However, if the big teams were able to enter third cars, Whitmarsh acknowledges that it would be an opportunity for celebrity drivers like Rossi, Sebastien Loeb and NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson.

“So in the event that the number of teams drops below 10 – and at the moment we’re hoping it is 13 next year – it would be a fantastic opportunity,” added Whitmarsh.

Apr.28 (GMM)  Kimi Raikkonen insists he still has not made a decision about returning to formula one in 2011.

After agreeing to end his Ferrari contract a year early late in 2009, the Finn signed on with Red Bull and Citroen and then endured a difficult and crash-laden start to his new career in the World Rally Championship.

But early this month in Jordan, 30-year-old Raikkonen became the first driver since Carlos Reutemann to score points in both F1 and world rallying.

And then shortly after declaring he is not missing formula one, he finished less than 7 minutes behind winner Sebastien Loeb in Turkey for fifth place.

But when asked if his recent results make it more likely he will stick with rallying in 2011, Raikkonen told Turun Sanomat newspaper: “It has not turned in any direction.

“There is no rush for me to make decisions.  We’ll have to see what are the possibilities and what for me is the most interesting — what I enjoy the most and what it is I most want to do,” he added.

“We will see at a point some time later this year,” said Raikkonen.

Famously not fond of F1′s off-track activities and pressures, and ruing the lost days of characters like James Hunt, Raikkonen’s observers agree that he seems happier in the rallying world.

“If the F1 world could go back 20 years, it would be the same as rallying now,” he said.  “It (rallying) is still professional but in just a bit more of a relaxed style.”

Apr.24 (GMM) The Serbian outfit, headed by Zoran Stefanovich, also said it has “signed an agreement” with the mayor of Stara Pazova, located 25 kilometres from Belgrade, for the construction of a F1 circuit and team headquarters.

“This is proof that we want to put ourselves on the map as a serious hi-tech company, and that we are serious about competing in formula one for the long term,” said Stefanovich on the team’s re-launched website.

Stefan GP confirmed that it is bidding for next year’s final spot on the grid, revealing that talks for its failed 2010 plans had taken place with drivers including Sebastien Loeb, Christian Klien and others.

However, Mike Coughlan appears no longer part of Stefan’s plans, due to the publication of an airbrushed photograph that once featured the disgraced former McLaren designer.

“We want to be a part of F1 for both the long and short term future, and I hope that we will finally have the success we deserve,” added Stefanovich.