Reigning two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä has added a new chapter to his motorsport journey, becoming the latest WRC star to test a Formula 1 car. The 24-year-old Finn swapped his Toyota rally machine for a Red Bull RB8 F1 car in an exclusive test session at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, fulfilling a long-time ambition to experience the thrill of Formula 1.
Kalle Rovanperä F1 test: Making his dream a reality
Rovanperä’s test day at the Red Bull Ring began with him taking on Formula 4 and Formula Renault 3.5 cars before stepping up to the main event—the Red Bull F1 car. Over the course of the day, he clocked between 40 to 50 laps, gaining valuable experience in handling the F1’s immense grip and downforce, which are worlds apart from the loose, unpredictable surfaces of rally stages, according to Motorsport.com.
“It was a great day. I got to drive three different formula cars and got quite a few laps in,” Rovanperä said. “The F1 was something I’d looked forward to for a long time, so it was amazing to finally drive it. The day went really well, and I came away with very good feelings.”
Comparing rally and Formula 1
While rally and F1 are both high-speed disciplines, the differences couldn’t be more pronounced. Rovanperä noted that an F1 car feels more like a high-powered kart, with minimal body roll and enormous downforce, enabling much higher speeds through corners.
“The biggest difference is that a rally car moves a lot more with the body, while an F1 car is like a kart—it doesn’t move much from its suspension and has incredible grip. The downforce allows you to drive much faster in corners. Physically, it’s very different too; there’s much more lateral G-force, it stops harder, turns more sharply, and you feel a lot more of the forces in your body.”
Rovanperä added, “The seating position is very different as well. The first time you sit in there, it’s quite a shock compared to a rally car, but it was really cool to feel that today.”
Expanding his motorsport horizons
This F1 test caps off an adventurous year for Rovanperä, who has been exploring different forms of motorsport during a partial WRC campaign for Toyota. He’s competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux series, securing three race wins, and recently took on a round of the Italian Carrera Cup at Monza. Rovanperä has also revealed his desire to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours, showing his ambition to diversify his racing portfolio even further.
Following in the footsteps of rally legends
Rovanperä isn’t the first WRC champion to try his hand at F1. Rally icons Colin McRae and Sebastien Loeb both experienced the unique thrill of Formula 1 in their careers. McRae famously swapped cars with F1 driver Martin Brundle in 1996, driving a Jordan F1 car at Silverstone, while Loeb drove a Renault F1 show car at Paul Ricard in 2007 before setting the eighth-fastest time at a Red Bull winter test in Barcelona in 2008.
With his F1 test, Rovanperä has joined an exclusive club of rally champions who have taken on the challenge of Formula 1, bridging the gap between two of motorsport’s most demanding disciplines. Fans of both rally and F1 will be watching closely to see if this is just a one-time experience for the Finnish star—or the beginning of something bigger.
