Famous Formula 1 test driver: Two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä drove a Red Bull RB8 from the 2012 season at the Red Bull Ring
Two-time world rally champion Kalle Rovanperä joined the ranks of prominent Formula One test drivers on Wednesday (November 6). The Finn took to the wheel of a Red Bull RB8 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The car with which Sebastian Vettel clinched his third world championship title in the 2012 Formula One season.
After Rovanperä had first familiarized himself with the track in a Formula 4 and a Formula Renault 3.5, he got into the Formula 1 car and completed a total of 50 laps on the Grand Prix circuit in Styria. He was assisted by Patrick Friesacher. The former Formula 1 driver is now chief instructor at the Red Bull Ring.
“Formula 1 was something I had been looking forward to for a long time, and it was really cool to finally be able to drive it,” said Rovanperä after his first Formula 1 test. ‘The day went well and I went home with a very good feeling.’
Rovanperä impressed by the grip of the Formula 1 car
“The biggest difference between rallying and Formula 1 is, of course, that a rally car moves a lot more in the body,” said the 24-year-old. ”Formula 1 is a bit like a kart. The suspension doesn’t move much, but it has an incredible amount of grip – and of course F1 has an enormous amount of downforce, which allows you to go much faster through the corners. It’s also very different physically.”
“There are a lot more lateral g-forces, the car brakes harder and steers in quicker – it feels very different for the driver,” Rovanperä describes his impressions. “When you sit in it for the first time, it feels very different from a rally car – you sit in a very different position too, so it feels very different – but it was really cool to feel it today.”
The first signs of an upcoming Formula 1 test by Rovanperä were already evident earlier this year when he posted photos from a visit to the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes. The seat fitting took place there and Rovanperä drove the Red Bull Formula 1 simulator.
First talent test at the age of eight
The son of former WRC driver Harri Rovanperä had already caused a stir in the rally scene as a child. The reason for this was a YouTube video. It showed Rovanpeä, racing over snowy roads in a typically Scandinavian manner in a Toyota Starlet at the age of eight.
His extraordinary talent was recognized early on. At the age of just 15, he competed in his first rally in the Baltic States and celebrated his first victories. Since Rovanperä did not yet have a driver’s license at the time, his co-driver had to steer the car on public roads away from the closed-off special stages.
After that, things went steeply uphill. In 2019, he became world champion in WRC2, the Formula 2 of rallying. In 2020, at the age of 19, Rovanperä became a works driver at Toyota. One year later, he celebrated his first victory in the WRC. In 2022, at the age of 22, he became the youngest world champion in the history of the World Rally Championship.
Not the first rally driver in an F1 car
After successfully defending the title in 2023, Rovanperä surprisingly announced his partial retirement because he felt drained. In the 2024 season, the Finn only competed in the WRC for Toyota on a part-time basis, but celebrated four victories in seven starts, making him the most successful driver of the year in this statistic.
In his newly found free time, Rovanperä has devoted himself to other activities. In addition to drift racing, one of his great passions, he competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux and won three races there. By competing in circuit racing, Rovanperä wanted to become a more well-rounded racing driver.
The Finn is not the first World Rally Champion to try his hand at the wheel of a Formula 1 car. Colin McRae, Tommi Mäkinen and Sebastien Ogier have all taken this step before him. Sebastien Loeb even took part in the official Formula 1 winter tests for Red Bull in 2007.