Kalle Rovanperä will step away from the World Rally Championship at season’s end and switch to Super Formula in Japan, in a move Toyota Gazoo Racing calls a transition “the likes of which has never been seen before in motorsport.” The Finn, who became the youngest WRC title winner at 22 in 2022 and doubled up in 2023, remains in the hunt for a third crown before his switch.
Why Super Formula?
Super Formula is often labelled the fastest single-seater series outside F1. Backed by Toyota, Rovanperä sees it as a demanding environment to test himself: “I know that it’s jumping straight into the deep end… but we have a good plan to prepare in the best way possible.”
Eyes on F1?
Speculation has already linked the move to longer-term F1 ambitions. While any F1 step remains hypothetical, the pathway is credible: recent Super Formula standouts like Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson used the series to sharpen their single-seater credentials.
The significance
Top-level discipline changes are rare in the modern era. Rovanperä’s switch blends audacity and calculation — a champion rally driver seeking to learn the language of high-downforce grip at some of Japan’s most demanding circuits.