There are certain rules that must be respected in order for a caricature to work. It must exaggerate and distort the features of the original, while preserving the likeness of its subject. If it fails to do that, it becomes something else, something grotesque. F1 Race Stars negotiates that fine line, producing a cutesy, cuddly, and impossibly cheery take on that fairly inaccessible sport – Formula 1 – in which races are interminable and the personalities of its drivers are obscured by helmets.

But F1 Race Stars does a pretty good job of translating the mainstays of Formula 1 – the engines, the teams, the pit stops, the change in weather conditions – into elements that make perfect sense within the context of a kart racer. And ultimately, that's what F1 Race Stars is – a kart racer, but one with some notable differences.

Firstly, there’s no drifting – this is F1, you see. Unlike most kart racers, in F1 you’ll benefit from hitting that perfect racing line. It isn’t as po-faced as that might sound; you’ll still hurtle around tracks, bashing into your fellow drivers, but you'll also be slamming on the brakes too. Periodically, sections of the tracks are coated in blue, and while passing through one of these sections, you'll have opportunity to charge up your KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) by ‘pumping’ the throttle. Manage to do it three times and when you emerge back onto tarmac, you’ll be treated to a formidable speed boost. For a generation weaned on Mario Kart, it feels deeply strange to not use the breaks, and having to shed some momentum in order to take a corner perfectly. But in the year of the kart racer – LittleBigPlanet Karting and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformer are also out before the end of the year – being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The cars may be adorable but they aren’t impervious to damage. Power-ups inflict lasting harm; parts of your car will begin loosen and rattle, and you’ll have to keep an eye out for an upcoming pit-stop. At the expense of a slight detour, your car will be as good as new and ready to compete with the best.

The disparity between racing teams – say, Ferrari and McLaren – is preserved by each team having their own unique power-up from the starting grid. Hamilton and Button both have the ability to swap their power-up by holding A, for instance. Meanwhile, Alonso has a ‘backward seeker bubble’. And this brings us to one of the prominent shortcomings of the game: the power-ups. Perhaps it's down to the restrictions of the F1 licence itself, but the power-ups mainly comprise of coloured bubbles endowed with different abilities. Some act like green shells, some like red shells, but regardless of their properties, they still just look like brightly-coloured bubbles, regardless of whether they imprison you or knock you off the track. They also have ridiculous names like ‘triple ricochet bubble’ and ‘smart pulse bubble’. In addition to ‘bubbles’, the remaining power-ups consist of a wide variety of boost types. And again even though they have different properties, they all feel inevitably samey. For a game that obviously prides itself at being crammed with character it’s power-ups sadly lack just that.

The insipid nature of the power-ups is in stark contrast to charming level and character design, an obvious strong point. Tracks exploit the globe-trotting nature of F1 to good effect, with each course drawing on that country’s landscape and most iconic landmarks. The USA is a composite America, with Midwest tractors lazily crossing the track, arid dusty canyons, and even a giant yellow robotic T-Rex presiding over a Monster Truck show (yes, you read that correctly). If that wasn't enough, you’ll ride up walls, on courses that rudely defy gravity. Meanwhile, the German course is stitched together from a section set in the deep Black Forest, a tour of a Disney-fied Bavarian castle, and a final stretch on the hectic autobahn. The art direction is very distinctive. It won’t be to everybody’s taste; some will find the perky pastels a tad nauseating but it looks as if everything has been whittled from vinyl. The faces of the drivers have a plastic sheen, and sharp, contoured edges. They nudge and point to each other on the starting line.

In the annus mirabilis of kart racers, F1 Race Stars has its own distinctive personality, which comes from transforming and playing around with the Formula One licence; this could also be its undoing, however. Playing it safe with the licence, not taking those risks, could see it left behind on the starting grib.

Daniel is IGN's UK Staff Writer, and you can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

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