[Saba Sports News] The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Galaxy Edition is currently in theaters. Recently, some F1 fans took part in a discussion titled “Which Mario Kart character is each F1 driver?”Some fans believe Lewis Hamilton is Mario, as the face of the paddock. Valtteri Bottas is seen as Luigi, forming a brotherly pairing with Hamilton. Max Verstappen is compared to Wario for his strong, competitive personality. Fernando Alonso is likened to Bowser, representing his veteran status and intimidating presence. Sergio Perez is jokingly referred to as Yoshi, Mario’s ride.Lando Norris corresponds to Donkey Kong, while rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto Oliveira are seen as Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. Charles Leclerc is humorously called a “banana peel”, implying he often brings unexpected situations. As for Princess Peach, no clear counterpart has been named, leaving it a mystery.
In our view, the discussion of matching F1 drivers to Mario Kart characters mainly stems from controversies surrounding the new 2026 F1 regulations. Drivers have frequently used Mario Kart to describe their current racing experience. Accordingly, fans have created this fun set of character parallels for the grid.