World rally champion Kalle Rovanpera has his sights set on a future seat in Formula 1 after announcing a surprise switch to single-seater racing.
The Finnish driver, who won the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2022 and 2023, will drive in Japanese series Super Formula next yea, in the first step of a journey which he hopes will end up at the “highest level” in F1.
Rovanpera, 25, will be backed in his new venture by Toyota, whom he has raced for since 2020. The 25-year-old is the WRC’s youngest-ever title-winner, race winner and podium finisher and thus has a sterling reputation in the world of rallying.
"We are definitely aiming really high,” Rovanpera told rallying website DirtFish. “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.”
Rovanpera added that his medium-term target is a Formula 2 seat in 2027, but did not turn his nose up at the prospect of racing in endurance competitions – such as the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans event – in the future.
"I just know my next few years' plans,” he added. “I know we will go Super Formula. After this, we will work towards the next category step, which would be Formula 2, and we will see how everything goes.
"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."
Super Formula consists of 12 rounds across Japan from April to November, with races at tracks such as Suzuka and Fuji. Liam Lawson was the last F1 driver to compete in the series, back in 2023.
