Kalle Rovanperä, who will be driving in Super Formula instead of the World Rally Championship in the future, has stated that Formula 1 is his long-term goal – but he is not yet an option for Toyota partner Haas.
Kalle Rovanperä, the youngest World Rally Champion in history, has stated that his long-term goal is Formula 1 in connection with his upcoming move from the World Rally Championship (WRC) to Super Formula. Does that automatically put him on the list at Haas? After all, the US team has been working closely with Toyota, Rovanperä’s long-time employer and sponsor, for a year now.
Rovanperä will compete in his first full season in formula racing in Super Formula in 2026 for one of the Toyota teams. Which team it will be has not yet been announced. The 2025 WRC season runs until the end of November, and Rovanperä still has the chance to become world champion for the third time with Toyota.
In preparation for his switch to formula racing, Rovanperä tested a Formula 2 car a few days ago. When asked whether he could be a candidate for Haas in the medium term, for example for a Formula 1 test in a two-year-old car (TPC), Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu replied: “No, that’s not our plan.”
When asked whether a Formula 1 test for Rovanperä might simply be too early from today’s perspective, Komatsu added: “That is not our plan at all.”
The Haas team boss describes Toyota’s interests as “completely separate from ours,” but then at least adds about Rovanperä: “If he’s good, that’s great. I guess there are bigger problems you can have. If he’s fast, then it’s good that we have access to him. But he’s not part of our current plans.”
Should Rovanperä end up testing for Haas in Formula 1 at some point in the future, it wouldn’t be his first laps in a Formula 1 car. In November 2024, the Finn tested a 2012 Red Bull RB8 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. On that occasion, he was particularly impressed by the grip and downforce.
