‘Max Verstappen of the WRC’ announces F1 switch plan | F1 | Sport
The ‘Max Verstappen of the World Rally Championship’ has declared his ambition to one day take on the four-time Formula 1 champion. Double World Rally champion Kalle Rovanpera has made a surprising career move as he sets his sights on the peak of single-seater motorsport.
The 25-year-old Finnish racer, who has participated in 75 rallies and clinched seventeen victories, including consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023, is now aiming to make it to “the highest level” of single-seater racing. As the youngest ever World Rally Championship title-winner, race victor and podium finisher, Rovanpera has been labelled the ‘Max Verstappen of rallying’ int he past.
He has now secured a spot in the Japanese Super Formula series, backed by Toyota Gazoo Racing, with whom he has been racing since 2020. However, his ambitions don’t stop there, with a future transition to the F1 ladder being part of his strategy.
Speaking to DirtFish, he said: “We are definitely aiming really high. It all depends on how everything goes and we definitely set our goals on the highest level and we will work towards it and see what we get out from it because, like you know, in life and especially motorsport, you never know what’s coming.
“You need to be in the right place at the right time and many things need to go your way. But yeah, we definitely have time on my side still. I’m only 25 and when we start to work on it now, which is the plan, we definitely aim to go all the way.
“I just know my next few years’ plans. I know we will go Super Formula and, after this, we will work towards the next category step, which would be Formula 2, and we will see how everything goes.”
Rovanpera, a rising star in the racing world, has expressed his interest in various forms of circuit racing, including the World Endurance Championship and its marquee event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He said: “I cannot tell you now which will be my ultimate goal. I have told you it’s the highest level. Formula 1 is the highest level, but obviously there are so many cool series and events in circuit racing. If you ask me, do I want to do Le Mans one day? For sure. If I have the chance, I want to do Le Mans and I want to do all these big races. There are so many possibilities.”
Marc Goossens, Rovanpera’s driver coach, previously told The Race that he believes the Finn has the potential to excel in an F1 car. He said: “I guarantee you, you put him in any given car – you put him in a Formula 1 car now, he’ll be fast in it.
“That takes a different approach, it’s a completely different package, but you have him do that, he’ll be fast. Put him in a kart, he’ll be fast. I think you cannot name any of all the extremes… put the guy in a NASCAR, he’ll be fast!”.
