Max Verstappen jokes he swapped simulator for Mario Kart but insists he won’t leave F1

Max Verstappen has joked he has swapped his sim for Mario Kart, and says he has no intention of leaving F1 any time soon.

The Dutch driver pointedly said his enjoyment of racing in Formula 1 will dictate his future when he spoke to media during pre-season testing, but says he does not want to leave the sport behind any time soon.

Max Verstappen responds to Formula 1 frustration with Mario Kart joke

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Early in pre-season testing in Bahrain, Verstappen had decried the new F1 regulations as being “anti-racing” and that the technique demands of the new regulations mean much less fun for the drivers.

That stance hasn’t changed following the first race of the season, in which Verstappen finished sixth, after which he deemed the event “super frustrating” when radioing in to race engineer GianPiero Lambiase.

Speaking after the chequered flag, Verstappen expanded upon those frustrations, saying, “I love racing, but you can only take so much, right? It’s not like little tweaks for sure.

“I mean, I think they’re willing to listen, the FIA and F1, but I just hope that there is some action because I’m not the only one saying it.

“Whether it’s drivers, fans, we just want the best for the sport. It’s not that we are critical, just to be critical.

“We are critical for a reason. We want it to be Formula 1 proper, F1 on steroids. Today, that was not the case.”

The main complaint from the drivers, Verstappen included, relates to the energy management requirements, which translates to incidents in which overtaking becomes far more regular, but less impactful, as drivers exploit their battery boosts down the straights.

It’s led to several comparisons to Mario Kart, and Verstappen joked the Nintendo classic now serves as better preparation for him than jumping in a sim.

“I found a cheaper solution. I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and, yeah, practicing a bit of Mario Kart, actually!” he laughed, when asked if drivers who spend more time in the sim are now at a greater advantage than those who don’t.

“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!”

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Max Verstappen says he has no intention of leaving Formula 1

Verstappen’s pre-season disappointment in the regulations had suggested the longevity of his F1 career could be influenced by his enjoyment, with the Dutch driver seeking other outlets for his racing pleasure outside of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.

He has been experimenting with sports car racing, earning his Nordschleife ring licence in 2025, and he is set to take part in the top-level Nurburgring 24 Hours in May.

With F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali expressing confidence that Verstappen won’t leave the sport behind, the Dutch driver said that he’s hopeful F1 will improve, but he won’t necessarily quit over the rules as they are.

“I don’t want to leave, really,” he said.

“I wish I had a bit more fun, for sure. But I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun. I mean, I get to race the Nordschleife.

“I hope, in the coming years, I can do Spa, and hopefully Le Mans, you know. So I’m combining stuff to find other stuff that I find really fun as well.

“So I have a lot of distractions at the same time, positive distractions, I would call it, but, at the same time, it’s a bit conflicting, because I don’t really enjoy driving the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.

“So, yeah, it’s almost like a bit of a mind…. I can’t swear! It was 5k [euro] now, yeah, 100k? Euros? Swearing, no, it’s 5k!

“I question if it was the word or sentence, I don’t know, but anyway, you know what I mean, right?

“So no, I don’t want to leave. But I also hope that it gets better. I’ve had discussions with F1 and the FIA, and I think we are working towards something, and hopefully that will improve everything.”

Asked what the nature of the conversations has been, or whether he’s resigned to the regulations being as they are for the next few years, Verstappen didn’t go into detail.

“I definitely hope not for the next few years,” he said.

“But I hope already for next year we can make a decent improvement. There are a few options that we are discussing.”

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