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Motorsport

Charles Leclerc likened new F1 racing to "Mario Kart" after Australian GP

Charles Leclerc Mario Kart (Organization) Ferrari George Russell Australian Grand Prix Mercedes

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix weekend was the first real opportunity for drivers, teams and fans to see the reality of the new Formula 1 regulations.

Interestingly, during and after the race, multiple drivers likened the racing to a video game, with Charles Leclerc claiming a similarity to Mario Kart.

Ferrari had an impressive start. Leclerc went from fourth on the grid to take the lead from Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton climbed from seventh to third. The opening laps of the race featured an exciting battle between Leclerc and Russell as the Briton fought to take the race lead back.

The battle continued for the first phase of the race before a virtual safety car resulted in opposing strategies for Mercedes and Ferrari.

During the back-and-forth with Russell, Leclerc joked that it felt like Mario Kart as both drivers swapped positions, clearly referencing the newly introduced overtake and boost modes. "This is like the mushroom in Mario Kart," the Monegasque driver said over the team radio.

This was not the first reference to gaming from drivers this weekend. While speaking to Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle during the grid walk, Cadillac driver Sergio Perez said with a cheeky smile, "Let's see what happens in this video game race."

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Haas driver Oliver Bearman was also asked if it felt like playing a video game. "Yeah, a little bit," he told the media. "It was like I was in F1 and everyone else was in F2. But then, of course, you have to recharge the battery again, because otherwise you're dead into the next straight.

"So, it's a lot of stuff to think about, which is complicated, but the fact that I finished P7 means that I'm happy, even if the car has not been the most fun to drive this weekend."