Former world champion Mario Andretti has also responded to Max Verstappen’s Mario Kart comparisons. The Dutchman referenced the famous video game as comparison material for racing under the new Formula 1 rules. Andretti thinks he knows the reason for Verstappen’s discontent: ‘Someone like Max is used to everything going his way, but he doesn’t have as much fun as he would like right now’.
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The new Formula 1 regulations continue to spark much discussion in the paddock. There are drivers who enjoy the new racing style – such as Lewis Hamilton – while others like Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are more critical. The Dutch world champion even compared the new rules to the Mario Kart game in China. “I’ve traded in my simulator for a Nintendo Switch, and now I’m practicing for the races with Mario Kart”, he joked at the time. “Finding the mushrooms is going well, but it’s still difficult to find the blue shields. I’m still working on that”.
‘Max is used to driving at the front’
Former 1978 world champion Mario Andretti responds to the Dutchman’s comments. According to the current Cadillac advisor, Verstappen is simply used to ‘everything going his way’. “Overall, there are many positive aspects (to the regulations, ed.). So it’s not all negative, so to speak”, Andretti begins in the Drive to Wynn podcast. “But you know, someone like Max is used to driving at the front and everything pretty much going his way. He doesn’t have as much fun as he would like right now. But that’s just how it is. It’s up to everyone to simply deal with what comes their way and make the best of it.”
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Andretti is the second oldest living Formula 1 world champion, after Jackie Stewart, and since his heyday the sport has changed considerably. Yet the American also sees similarities. “The pleasure of driving comes from the equipment you have at your disposal as a driver, and then you get the maximum out of it”, Andretti explains. “No matter how much things change, you continue to get pleasure from the same things. So it’s simply about trying to understand everything you need to do better than the man next to you. No matter how much things change, in that respect it remains the same.”
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