Charles Leclerc Said New F1 Cars Are Like Mario Kart, So Ferrari Did the Only Right Thing

Date March 12, 2026
Category
News
Charles Leclerc Said New F1 Cars Are Like Mario Kart, So Ferrari Did the Only Right Thing

Formula 1‘s new overtake and boost modes did produce some pretty captivating fights for position during last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix—particularly at the head of the pack and start of the race, between George Russell and Charles Leclerc. (You know, before Ferrari threw that race away.) Still, multiple drivers seem to share the sentiment that the new power deployment options available to them give the racing a more video-game feel, and Ferrari decided to seize the moment with what I can only describe as a genius social media play.

In a short video, we see Leclerc insert his steering wheel, and right after a screen that the Scuderia’s folks made sure to obscure from prying eyes, Monaco’s favorite son presses a button with an icon that resembles Mario Kart’s mushrooms. Voilà—an image of Mario Kart 64 appears on the wheel’s display.

I say “image” because the game is not actually running. The display is static, and while I’m sure there is probably a way to hack an F1 car’s steering wheel until it runs a lightweight Nintendo 64 emulator, I think Leclerc’s crew probably has better things to do. Tossing a screenshot of Luigi Raceway onto the gizmo, with Mario mid-boost, is probably an easier lift.

If you missed where this all started, Leclerc said, “This is like a mushroom in Mario Kart” during last Sunday’s race, referring to the new boost and overtake features that give F1 cars extra power at the driver’s discretion. That echoed similar sentiments—though perhaps a bit more critically phrased—from fellow racers. Like Sergio Perez, who said ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix that he “found it very fake, to be honest.” Or Max Verstappen, who confessed to ditching his rig despite his well-documented love of sim racing:

“I found a cheaper solution, I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch,” Verstappen told media, according to ESPN. “I’m practicing with Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well, the blue shells a bit more difficult.”

Not that I have an ounce of the talent these guys have, but the idea of constantly pressing buttons to unlock extra power doesn’t sound like something I’d want to be doing at the wheel of an F1 car. Mario Kart, sure, but that’s because Mario Kart also lets you temporarily shrink your opponents. When F1 figures that out—or hosts a Grand Prix on Rainbow Road—I promise I’ll be more welcoming to the video game-ification of motorsport.

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