Fortunately, the sound of the old V8s can still be heard from time to time, thanks in particular to Red Bull. Accustomed to commercial operations and to opening its doors to drivers from other worlds, the Austrian team allowed Kalle Rovanperä to tick a new box in its hunting list.
Recently, the double world rally champion was offered the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time in his life. It was at the Red Bull Ring that the action took place, where the Finn sat aboard the RB8, the car with which the energy drink team scored the double with Sebastian Vettel in 2012, after having made his mark on a Formula 4 and a Formula Renault 3.5.
« A superb dayhe smiled. I've done quite a few laps and I've been looking forward to trying an F1 car for a long time, so it was really cool to finally be able to do it. The day went well with excellent sensations. Physically, an F1 car is quite different. There are a lot more lateral forces. The car brakes a lot more and turns more. The rider feels a difference, there are a lot more g-forces and the grip is incredible. »
After the sensations, then came the time to compare the best in single-seaters and rallying, his daily livelihood. “ The biggest difference between a rally car and F1 is that the former obviously moves a lot more than the latterhe notes. The F1 is a bit like a go-kart, it doesn't move much on its suspensions, but it has incredible grip and a huge amount of downforce. All this allows you to go much faster in turns. »
A test which is reminiscent of those of Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier, already with Red Bull. For the first, the adventure almost went further since there was once talk that he would compete in the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
READ ALSO > Rovanperä absent in Japan, Mikkelsen retained… logical choices?
Related News :