MARCH 13, 2026

F1 embraces its Mario Kart moment

Ferrari posted a social media video from Shanghai of Charles Leclerc playing Mario Kart on his steering wheel display in the cockpit - a tongue-in-cheek embrace of the mockery that has followed Formula 1 since Melbourne.

It preceded Max Verstappen doubling down on the gaming comparison in Thursday's FIA press conference, where the Red Bull driver was asked whether simulator work gives drivers an edge managing the 2026 cars' complex energy systems.

I found a cheaper solution, Verstappen said. "I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and yeah, practicing a bit of Mario Kart, actually.

"Finding the mushrooms is going quite well. The blue shell is a bit more difficult, but I'm working on it.

The rocket's still not there. It's coming.

The quip extended a joke that began at Albert Park last week, when Leclerc radioed his team during a battle with George Russell to say the battery boost felt like the mushroom in Mario Kart. That line has since become shorthand for a broader and more serious debate about whether the 2026 regulations have delivered the racing spectacle F1 intended.

Sergio Perez, back in the paddock with Cadillac after his exit from Red Bull, is not laughing. Speaking in Shanghai, the Mexican gave his bluntest assessment yet of what he witnessed in Australia.

I found the sport in Australia artificial. Everything is controlled by a button. You overtake, then later you get overtaken yourself. It feels like Mario Kart.

Perez pointed to one of the specific dangers exposed in Melbourne - the instability at race starts caused by restrictions on battery recharging across a single lap, including the formation lap. The rule left cars at varying states of charge on the grid, contributing to Liam Lawson's near-miss with Franco Colapinto's Alpine.

He offered little hope that the regulation framework can be quickly fixed, however.

Changing the regulations is virtually impossible because some teams currently have an advantage. And they certainly won't give that up voluntarily, said Perez.

Ultimately, what we have now isn't good for anyone.

Ferrari is among those resistant to altering the start rules, having mastered the current parameters to their benefit. Mercedes and its customer teams, leading the constructors' standings, have also shown little appetite for wholesale changes.

But Toto Wolff has signalled some openness to targeted tweaks, and championship leader George Russell was pointed in his criticism of Ferrari's position on the harvest limit.

The FIA did just want to make our life easier and just remove this harvest limit, but people have selfish views and they want to do what's best for themselves, Russell said.

(GMM)