The Ferrari Formula 1 team has leaned in to Charles Leclerc’s viral comment during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, when he likened the new overtake mode and Boost Button to Mario Kart.
The Maranello outfit left fans in stitches with a video of Leclerc pressing a specific combination of buttons on the steering wheel to bring up a static shot of the video game. As the camera zooms in, it turns to face the Monegasque driver, who cheekily raises his eyebrows.
“‘This is like a mushroom in Mario Kart.’ Now we know why…” the team wrote.
“Mamma Mia Perfecto please do this in race,” one fan commented, while another added: “That’s hilarious.”
“Bro gotta practice before the race. So, he installed the most accurate simulator of these regs,” someone else joked.
The Australian Grand Prix marked the first race under the new regulations in the championship. “Hilarious comparison perfectly explains that unexpected boost effect,” another fan commented in relation to the introduction of the overtake mode and boost button.
Leclerc was not the only driver to make a video gaming reference. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez told Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle ahead of the race in Melbourne: “Let’s see what happens in this video game race,” and has now been asked about his comments again in China.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images
“I found it very fake, to be honest,” the Mexican driver said. “Yeah, just on a button. You overtake, and then you get overtaken. Mario Kart style.”
He added: “At the end of the day, the driver can do the difference. It’s very early days on these rules, but it takes time. But what we saw in Melbourne, me talking as a fan, I didn’t like it.”
The paddock is now preparing for the second round of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix, which will feature the first sprint race of 2026.
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