The Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne did not disappoint, with a competitive duel between George Russell and Charles Leclerc, with Russell taking the first victory of the year for Mercedes. However, not all drivers enjoyed driving the new cars, with a 50/50 split of electrical power and internal combustion, and with drivers being able to manually control the energy deployment of the car, including a "Overtake Mode" which gives the car extra electrical power from the battery.
The response was mixed, but closer to negative because the constant switch between energy sources and this Overtake Mode mode has been linked by some to a video game: pushing a button to get extra speed and overtake (although it functions similarly to the now removed Drag Reduction System, DRS).
Amusingly, Charles Leclerc, during the radio conversations with Ferrari, said that pushing the button was like "a mushroom in Mario Kart".
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After the race, user matte_2201 made a video edit comparing the F1 race with a Mario Kart race.
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Lando Norris warns about the dangers of the new F1 cars
Many drivers did not like driving this way and expressed concerns, specially in the race start, due to speed differentials that could increase risk of crashes. Defending world champion Lando Norris warned about the dangers: "depending on what people do, you can have a 30, 40, 50 km/h speed (differential), and when someone hits someone at that speed, you're going to fly and you're going to go over the fence and you're going to do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe to others".
However, Leclerc says it can add strategy to the overtakes: "Before, it was more about who is the bravest at braking the latest", and now "after every boost button activation, you know you're going to pay the price big time after that".
Max Verstappen has been one of the bigger critics of the new rules weeks before the Australia race, and described driving with the new cars as "chaos", but Lewis Hamilton said he loved it and "it was really, really fun to drive" (via Motorsport).