WRC champion explains motivation behind single-seater switch

Late last year, two-time WRC drivers' champion Kalle Rovanperä stunned the motorsport world by announcing he would leave rallying at the end of the season in pursuit of a career in circuit racing.

Having just turned 25 and already a history-maker at the pinnacle of rallying, the Finnish driver explained his reasons for embarking on a bold new chapter.

The son of one-time WRC winner Harri Rovanperä, his path in motorsport was preordained. He has been driving cars since he was six, and received international recognition as early as eight, when a video of him driving a rally car on a dirt track went viral.

But having achieved his childhood dream and etched his name into the record books in the process, the prospect of testing his talents further afield was too appetising to pass up.

Rovanperä ultimately ended 2025 coming up short in his bid for a third WRC drivers' title, finishing the campaign third behind Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) team-mates Elfyn Evans and Sebastian Ogier, who wrapped up his ninth WRC crown, equalling the tally of Sébastien Loeb.

However, already the youngest rally winner and champion the series has ever seen — having taken his first championship the day after his 22nd birthday — winning a record number of WRC titles was never his primary goal, as he confirmed in his announcement video in October.

Instead, Rovanperä aspired to diversify, displaying his versatility as a racing driver. And while the announcement came as a shock, it was a moment years in the making, having already been tempted by the allure of opportunities in track-based disciplines.

"During the last few years, when I was doing some circuit racing, it was clear that it's super interesting, because it’s something completely new," Rovanperä told RacingNews365 during an exclusive interview.

"Even with GT cars, I need to learn some new skills. I need to push myself again in a new way — not like in WRC, where I know what to do.

"Obviously, the level for the top four or five is super high, but I know, let’s say, the steps that you need to take, and I’ve been doing it for years.

"So to do something new, to push your skill set, to learn something completely new that you didn’t know before — that was the interesting part. Since then, I knew I wanted to do this more."

Thanks to Toyota

As Rovanperä said in October, he has "been craving and working towards this for a while now."

He completed four rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux in 2024, winning three races, as well as an additional round of the Italian version of the championship.

On top of his GT experience, he has competed in drifting series and endurance racing, notably with two entries in the Dubai 24 Hours over the past couple of years.

And as a Red Bull athlete, Rovanperä was also afforded the chance to drive the team’s RB8 from the 2012 F1 season at the Red Bull Ring in November 2024.

Although he is "sure" he will work with the Milton Keynes-based F1 team again "at some point", the 18-time WRC rally winner was keen to shine a light on the role of Toyota — the manufacturer he has raced for since graduating to Rally1 cars full-time in 2020 — which is backing and facilitating his entire single-seater programme.

"When Toyota also realised that I’m serious about it, that I’m ready to throw everything at it and really try to do it properly, they got excited about it," Rovanperä said when reflecting on the journey that led to his career change.

"The biggest thanks go to them, obviously. They’ve put together the big programme — it’s a big effort for them.

"But that was the point last year, and obviously during this year, when we started to discuss the next steps, they realised it too. I was sure at the beginning of the summer, when we started to talk, that if we had a chance like this, I wanted to use it."

Why now?

That support from Toyota will see him race in Super Formula this year, after taking part in the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy with Hitech TGR — which, like the Haas F1 team, has close ties to the Japanese car giant — to gain experience and kickstart his quest for all-important FIA super licence points.

After a season in Japan, the plan is to progress to Formula 2 in 2027, machinery he has already tested.

That will again most likely be with Hitech TGR, the team that will field former IndyCar driver Colton Herta in F1’s premier support series this campaign.

But why has Rovanperä decided to make the transition to circuit racing at this stage of his career?

"I think the correct time was now — if you think about making the step, or the switch — because I’m still quite young," he explained.

"Obviously not like the youngsters in the junior formulas, but I’m still quite young, and we still have the chance to build the programme properly.

"So I think that was the belief, and also why they [Toyota] went so big on this programme and believe in it like I do.

"So for me, it was a clear and easy choice. I need to do it now if I’m ever going to do it, because I want to do it properly."

Others, notably Loeb, who attempted to leap to F1 with Toro Rosso in 2009 at the age of 35, have tried and failed.

However, the Frenchman, who was denied a super licence by the FIA because of his lack of single-seater experience, did not jump to the lower rungs of the ladder, as Rovanperä is doing.

He added: "I want to have a real chance to get good at it and to open all the doors on the path that’s there. I didn’t want to leave anything on the table, and I don’t want to do it when I’m 30 years old or something, like some drivers have tried.

"I want to do it now, when I have a real chance."