Formula E should drop ‘Mario Kart’ ideas

Last week Alejandro Agag, founder of Formula E, joked about drivers receiving a star like in Mario Kart to go faster.

Season five of Formula E will be using the Gen2 cars which can last a whole race. While this is a very dramatic and big change for the electric series, Formula E founder Alejandro Agag promises more.

“It would be like Mario Bros when they get the little star and go faster,”. — Alejandro when talking to motorsport.com

The goal of this is to mesmerize younger audiences which is a very good idea for something like Formula E. However, we are currently at a point where a lot of people just want pure racing. Its something that is missing from other series and thats why fans watch Formula E.

Daniel Abt testing the Gen2 Formula E car to be used in season five — (Image: Audi Media)

The concept behind the star idea would include making drivers go through a section of track, almost like a pit-stop, to access high power modes. This seems cool…ish. It sounds a whole lot like the Fanboost gimmick that seems to get people riled up.

Mario Kart is possibly the worst racing game to make a reference to as its by far the most unrealistic. (Also, referring to Mario Kart as Mario Bros is a cardinal sin in our books). Its a video game for a reason and bringing aspects of it into real life can be a slippery slope. It seems like the series is completely focusing on getting new attention while completely ignoring what the current fans want.

Over-complicating what could be the next generation series for all racing fans is not a good idea. The focus should be put on pure racing and showcasing the cars through the racing itself, not a Mario Kart gimmick.

You can argue that with no pit-stops the racing could get somewhat dull if things get stagnant throughout a race. Typically, pit-stops shake things up which is nice. While this is true there has to be a better way.

We are fans of introducing a quick charge method in the pits as ‘refueling’. Drivers could use this 40 second charge and deploy the extra energy at anytime. The best part is every driver gets it, not just drivers who are voted in. Using this sort of idea could also improve the rate at which charging technology improves. (This solution initially needs technology to get a little better but still)

We may be overreacting to this idea but we just want pure racing; without gimmicks. Luckily for fans, the FIA is in charge of race formats so things won’t get too hairy. What are your thoughts on the idea of bringing video game aspects to the track for season five?