Kalle Rovanpera is out of the running for the World Rally Championship, but that hasn’t prevented him from engaging in other racing activities.
The Finn has claimed four victories this year but sits down in sixth place in the drivers’ standings having missed multiple rallies.
The two-time reigning champion will not retain his crown for a third year in a row, but now he has turned his attention to another form of motorsport.
After a seat fitting earlier on in the year with Red Bull, it appeared that he was gearing up for something special down at Milton Keynes…
Kalle Rovanpera tests Red Bull F1 car in Spielberg
The Finn has now conducted a test in a Formula 1 car for Red Bull in Spielberg, in an RB8 which had been planned for a while.
It wasn’t the only machinery that he got to handle though, giving both Formula 4 and Formula Renault 3.5 cars a go too.
Speaking at the end of the day’s running to Autosport, he was upbeat about the opportunity that had been afforded to him.
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“It was a great day, I got to drive three different formula cars. I got quite a few laps in and, of course, the F1 was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, so it was really cool to finally get to drive it.
“The day went well, and I was left with very good feelings. Indeed, the first time you sit in there, it feels quite different than in a rally car – you also sit in such a different position that it feels quite different – but it was really cool to get to feel it today.”
Rovanpera to return to WRC full-time in 2025
After competing in a partial season throughout 2024, Rovanpera will return to WRC in a full-time capacity in 2025.
He’s going to be a serious contender for the championship and will challenge the likely new champion Ott Tanak strongly.
He now has a more than 20% win rate across his career, which started in 2017 in a Ford Fiesta – where he ran in two rallies.
Astonishingly, his first win didn’t come until 2021, but from there, he has been unable to shift the winning bug from his system.
Maybe he will get another go in a Formula 1 car in the future, but he has certainly proven that he is a special talent and has what it takes to drive many different cars.