Join now and get your first month for just $1 ><\/a><\/p>\nThey also have features such as straight-line mode, active aero, overtake and boost buttons, which Verstappen reckons are nearer to a video game. <\/p>\n
\u201cI swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch. I\u2019m practising with Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well, the blue shells are a bit more difficult.\u201d <\/p>\n
During last weekend\u2019s Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said over radio message that driving under the new hybrid cars \u201cfeels like the mushroom in Mario Kart\u201d, 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.<\/p>\n
Verstappen announced this week that he would be driving in the Nurburgring 24-hour race this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I had a bit more fun for sure,\u201d he said of Formula One at the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I get to race the Nordschleife (Nurburgring) and I hope in the coming years I can do Spa and hopefully Le Mans. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m combining stuff and I\u2019m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit conflicted because I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hope, of course, that it gets better,\u201d said the Dutchman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had discussions with F1 and the FIA and I think we are working towards something that will improve everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation unfortunately didn\u2019t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,\u201d Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scary near miss at the back of the grid! | 00:42<\/p>\n
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,\u201d said Alonso. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won\u2019t last too long. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid. <\/p>\n
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,\u201d Alonso said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is a challenge, a different challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chinese Grand Prix Schedule<\/p>\n
All times AEDT<\/p>\n
Friday, March 13 at 2.30pm \u2014 Practice 1<\/p>\n
Friday, March 13 at 6.30pm \u2014 Sprint Qualifying<\/p>\n
Saturday, March 14 at 2pm \u2014 Sprint<\/p>\n
Saturday, March 14 at 6pm \u2014 Qualifying<\/p>\n
Sunday, March 15 at 6pm \u2014 Race<\/p>\n
Follow all the action in our live blog below! Can\u2019t see the blog? CLICK HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four-time world champion Max Verstappen said he was not having much fun driving the new era of Formula…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-536831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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