Max Verstappen issues 'Mario Kart' comparison after Australia comeback drive

Max Verstappen has stated racing in the midfield pack during the Australian Grand Prix was akin to competing in “Mario Kart”.

Verstappen was forced to line up at the back of the field after a spin into the barrier during qualifying, which eliminated him from the session early on. 

The four-time champion rose to sixth place at the chequered flag and won the 'driver of the day' vote from fans after executing a series of overtakes.

But Verstappen stated the strategy of harvesting and deploying energy throughout the lap in combat created a “Mario Kart” style of racing.

"Chaos, up and down," Verstappen told Viaplay. "You overtake on one straight and then you can be overtaken again. 

“Of course, I also have better cornering speed [than the midfield] so then of course they can't attack me back again. Weird Mario Kart-like things happened in the midfield, though.”

After making his way through the midfield group, however, Verstappen ran into other issues.

"At the beginning I stayed out of trouble, but of course we are also a lot faster than the entire midfield,” he added.

"You just have to get through it unscathed. When I ended up driving a bit on my own, I suffered from a lot of graining. Also a lot of problems with the brakes, that it pulled up one side. The steering doesn't feel decent.

“There aren't a lot of positives to be honest, also in terms of feeling.”

Despite finishing the race almost one minute down on the winner George Russell, Verstappen admitted it was a positive debut for Red Bull's new engine branch.

“We are competing for the very first time with our own engine, so we can't complain,” he said. “I was able to overtake plenty of people. That does mean there is power in it.

"Of course we can't quite compete at the front at the moment, but that's not our only problem. I think with the car we really still have to take a step as well."