In a stunning development, Kalle Rovanperä is calling it quits on a successful rally career to try his hand at open-wheel racing. On Thursday, he announced he will begin competing in Super Formula full-time in 2026 with support from Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Rovanperä has been one of the World Rally Championship’s brightest young drivers, becoming the series’ youngest champion as he went back to back in 2022 and 2023. With three rounds left in the 2025 season, he sits third in points with two victories. The Finn has 17 WRC wins.

Despite his impressive résumé, the 25-year-old feels he’s accomplished enough to try something else while he’s still at the right age to do so.

“This decision has not been an easy one, but it’s one that I have been thinking about for a while,” he explained. “Having already achieved so much in rallying at this age, I started to think about what other possibilities I might have and what other challenges I would like to take on. It has been a tough decision, but it feels like the right one to pursue my next dreams and challenges.

“It’s special to have the support of Toyota Gazoo Racing from the start of this new challenge and to be able to race in Super Formula. I know that it’s jumping straight into the deep end, coming from rallying, but I’m really looking forward to it. Together with TGR, we have a good plan to prepare in the best way possible and to try and make the most of it.

“Since I started driving as a small kid, it was my dream to be a WRC driver, to win a rally, and to become world champion. To have achieved all that at such a young age has been an incredible feeling.”

Transitioning from rally to single seaters, while understandably extremely rare, is not a wholly unprecedented phenomenon. Lia Block is perhaps the most notable example today, going from 2023 ARA Open 2WD champion to scoring her maiden F1 Academy victory this past weekend in Singapore. WRC legend Sébastien Loeb has tested F1 cars on multiple occasions but never competed in the series.

Of course, Rovanperä will be diving into the deep end by going into Super Formula for his first taste of single seaters. Super Formula is the discipline’s highest level in Japan and one of the strongest such championships in the world, boasting the second fastest circuit cars behind F1.

TGR is one of the two engine suppliers in Super Formula alongside Honda.

“Given he has achieved so much and is still so young, it’s only natural that he would want to go for another challenge while he is able to do so,” offered TGR rally boss Jari-Matti Latvala. “We’ve seen racing drivers come and try rallying, but very rarely have we seen it the other way around: that a rally driver goes to circuit racing and tries to challenge the best, especially not in single-seater racing.

“TGR believes in helping drivers achieve their dreams and I don’t think there are many manufacturers who could give a driver that kind of opportunity, which is very exciting one for both sides. Kalle, together with Jonne (Halttunen, co-driver), has played a big part in our team’s success over the last few seasons. With three rallies left, I know he will certainly want to end his rally career as world champion, though he has two teammates (points leader Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans) who also desperately want to win.

“We will miss having him in our team, but TGR has been working hard to develop talented young rally drivers and we can be confident that we will be able to count on a strong lineup of drivers in 2026 and beyond.”

Featured image credit: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool