Charles Leclerc has shared an image on Instagram proving what a joke Formula One has become this year.
The racing category is facing a fan backlash following unanimous driver complaints during last week’s Australian Grand Prix. in Melbourne where the controversial new technical regulations overshadowed George Russell’s season-opening victory.
Sunday’s race saw fans and drivers get a first full look at the new era of hybrid cars, which require drivers to constantly manage the battery sourced power in the engines.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
It has led to a new phenomenon called “super-clipping” where drivers drop significant speeds without using a brake, harvesting electricity while at full throttle, typically at the end of straights or in high-speed corners, to recharge the battery.
A radio message Leclerc said to his team on Sunday said it all.
“When I press it, it feels like the mushroom in Mario Kart,” Leclerc told his race engineer.
The Monagesque racer has taken it a step further ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai where he shared a video of himself pretending to play the popular Nintendo game while sitting in the cockpit of his Ferrari.
A video shared by his Ferrari team shows Leclerc’s screen panel replaced by a Nintendo Switch where the 28-year-old appeared to be playing an old version of the iconic computer game.
In the video, the camera shifts from Leclerc’s screen to his face, where he is seen flashing a cheeky grin.
His antics come on the same day Red Bull champ Max Verstappen took another swipe at the new regulations, also referring to 2026 F1 cars as “Mario Karts”.
During an official FIA press conference ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix Verstappen did not hold back.
“I’ve found a cheaper solution. I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and, yeah, practising a bit of Mario Kart, actually,” he said when asked about getting used to the new style of racing.
“Yeah, finding the mushrooms is going quite well. The blue shell is a bit more difficult, but I’m working on it. The rockets are still not there. The rocket is coming.”
The new regulations did make for exciting racing at times in Australia. There were 45 overtakes at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix and 120 overtakes at this year’s race.
But Lando Norris and Verstappen heavily criticised the new regulations with Norris branding the position switching “artificial”.
“We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula One, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst. It sucks,” Norris said after qualifying.
“Everyone knows what the issues are. It’s just the fact the engine is a 50-50 split and it just doesn’t work.”
FIA officials are expected to review feedback from the teams about the new regulations, with the potential for some changes to be made after the race in Shanghai or Japan at the end of the month.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if tweaks were made,” Sky Sports commentator David Croft told the new MotorRacing 360 show, which you can watch on Kayo Sports on Wednesdays.
“I don’t think there’ll be a knee-jerk reaction, we’ve been guilty of that in the past in Formula One.
“I hear all the fans (complaining) but a lot of what we saw with George Russell and Charles Leclerc in the early stages was pretty organic racing.
“I’m not saying I’m a massive fan. Let’s make a few tweaks, embrace them and see where it takes us.
“Then after a season if it really hasn’t gone down well, let’s starting thinking about the next change to make things better.”
Supercars legend Mark Skaife said: “I think they’ll make the changes after China. They’ll sit down, take a deep breath and have a look at what’s going on.
“It’s what happens when propeller-heads and boffins make rules. That’s exactly what the issue is.
“The overtaking is all in a straight line. It’s like a highway pass. It’s absolutely wrong.
“We want genuine overtaking, we want authentic passes.
“If you compare what Supercars put on the weekend. Listen to the noise and look at the way the overtaking was done, it was as good as you’ll see. Our product was absolutely sensational.”