Four-time world champion Max Verstappen said he was not having much fun driving the new era of Formula One cars, joking he was “practising with Mario Kart” because it was more realistic than his simulator.
The Red Bull driver crashed in qualifying in the season-opener in Australia last weekend before having to carve his way from 20th on the grid to finish a creditable sixth.
The new cars require battery management and energy harvesting with a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power.
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They also have features such as straight-line mode, active aero, overtake and boost buttons, which Verstappen reckons are nearer to a video game.
“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch. I’m practising with Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well, the blue shells are a bit more difficult.”
During last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said over radio message that driving under the new hybrid cars “feels like the mushroom in Mario Kart”, while on Thursday, Ferrari shared an edited video of Leclerc pretending to play the popular Nintendo game while sitting in the cockpit of his car, an apparent swipe at the new technical regulations that have prompted unanimous driver complaints.
Chinese Grand Prix Schedule
All times AEDT
Friday, March 13 at 2.30pm — Practice 1
Friday, March 13 at 6.30pm — Sprint Qualifying
Saturday, March 14 at 2pm — Sprint
Saturday, March 14 at 6pm — Qualifying
Sunday, March 15 at 6pm — Race
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Verstappen announced this week that he would be driving in the Nurburgring 24-hour race this year.
“I wish I had a bit more fun for sure,” he said of Formula One at the moment.
“I mean, I get to race the Nordschleife (Nurburgring) and I hope in the coming years I can do Spa and hopefully Le Mans.
“So I’m combining stuff and I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.
“It’s a bit conflicted because I don’t really enjoy to drive the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.”
He did express optimism that things would improve as the new rules and regulations were adjusted and said drivers were already in discussions over changes.
“I hope, of course, that it gets better,” said the Dutchman.
“I’ve had discussions with F1 and the FIA and I think we are working towards something that will improve everything.”
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso said he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
Scary near miss at the back of the grid! | 00:42
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
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