Image ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87242923 ) by Cal1 ( https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Cal1&action=edit&redlink=1 )– own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons ) Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ) license.
2022 and 2023 WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä has announced he will be leaving the pinnacle of rallying after the season end in Saudi Arabia. His destination? Next year, Super Formula. In 2027, Formula 2.
The Finn’s announcement comes as a sudden shock for both fans of rallying and formula racing. Whilst, in recent years, experienced and successful F1 drivers such as Kimi Räikkönen, Robert Kubica and 2020 Rally Dakar “Rookie of the Year” Fernando Alonso have dipped their toes into rallies, it has not been as widespread the other way around. Sébastien Loeb is the only driver to have been rumoured to make the big switch. The WRC legend tested both the Renault R27 and the Red Bull RB4 and was seriously linked, as confirmed by himself, to a race drive in 2009 for Toro Rosso.
Rovanperä, however, will apparently take the feeder series route to a possible place in the pinnacle of motorsport. Raymond Blancafort of Soy Motor indicates that the driver of Latvian descent has “Formula 1 as his objective”, which is only logical considering his unusual switch to FIA Formula 2. He will start the 2027 season at 26 years of age and will end it at 27, something uncommon in non-pay drivers. This is also the earliest ever announcement of a driver of the category since its inception in 2017.
In an X video titled “New Chapter”, he also explains that he will be continuing to develop his career with the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) in Super Formula. Rovanperä has become synonymous with the Japanese team, as he has driven with them in WRC for the last six seasons, winning two titles which could possibly become three this year. The trailer also insinuates he will be driving for Hitech-TGR when he makes the full switch to F1 feeders in F2, something logical considering the aforementioned links.
It remains to be seen whether Haas, who has been partnered with Toyota since 2024, has the Jyväskylä-born driver in their plans for the 2028 Formula 1 season. And whilst the ties seem logical, it is, for now, nothing but speculation.
Leave a Reply