WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä conducts debut F1 test

07th November 2024

Adam Wilkins

Kalle Rovanperä swapped his usual Toyota WRC car for a Red Bull Formula 1 car last week. The reigning two-time World Rally Champion, who is also a Red Bull athlete, had his first experience behind the wheel of an F1 car at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

An Instagram post back in September showed Rovanperä had visited Red Bull’s F1 headquaters in Milton Keynes, and he had a seat fitting and a session on the simulator in readiness for his time on track. You don’t just step into a modern Formula 1 car, after all.

On the day of the test session, 24-year old Rovanperä ascended through the single-seater ranks first by driving a Formula 4 car and then a Formula Renault 3.5 before finally getting into a 2012 naturally-aspirated RB8.

Commenting after the session, he said: “It was really cool to finally sit in an F1 car. It’s definitely a really different feeling than what a rally car gives with the seating position and how it’s set up. I was really excited to get to finally drive an F1 car."

“On an F1 car you have so much downforce that physically it’s very different to a rally car. You have a lot more G-force but it was pretty much how I expected it.

“The first emotion is being really happy. I was excited for the day and it went pretty well. I got to try three different formulae so it was a good experience and I thinkk we did well. I enjoyed it a lot.”

Having reduced his WRC commitments in 2024, Rovanperä has had the opportunity to spent more time on circuit this season. Contesting the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux has yielded three wins for the Finn, demonstrating his ability to adapt to alternative forms of motorsport. Rovanperä has also competed in Carrera Cup Italia and is open about his ambition to race at the Le Mans 24-hour.

Next year, however, he is returning to a full WRC season with Toyota Gazoo Racing.