Codemasters has announced F1 Race Stars, a Mario Kart-style arcade racer staring caricatured F1 drivers and over the top tracks.  Set to arrive this November on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Race Stars is in production at Codemasters Racing Studios in Birmingham and is described as "a fast-to-the-fun arcade racing game for all ages featuring the official FORMULA ONE cars, teams and circuits as they've never been seen before."

The official blurb continues: "Players will jostle for position on every straight, hairpin, jump and loop-the-loop with chaotic racing and a range of power-ups for players to collect and deploy as they sprint for the chequered flag."

Drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel have been transformed into "personality-packed heroes," says Codies, and you'll also recognise official F1 Championship circuits reimagined as "fantasy racing theme parks".

An extensive range of game modes are promised, including Championships, Time Trials, 4-player split-screen racing and online multiplayer for up to 12 players.

Chris Gray, senior producer said: "We're really excited to bring the whole cast of FORMULA ONE into a fun new world of racing. We've really let our Art and Design teams off the leash to bring F1 stars' personalities alive in a new way and create a game where racing fans of all ages can jump into all-action solo, split-screen and online multiplayer races.
"It's the game we've wanted to create for a long time and, building on our strong relationship with Formula One Management Limited, we're now able to bring Codemasters' long-standing expertise in track design and AI to create a FORMULA ONE racing experience quite unlike any other."

Feature list:

FORMULA ONE STARS AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE! In F1 RACE STARS, the whole cast of FORMULA ONE stars become personality-packed, toonified heroes driving all-new F1 RACE STARS cars representing each team from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP on a range of super-fast, feature-packed circuits. Codemasters Racing Studios has drawn upon its vast experience in track design and racing AI and let its game designers and artists off the leash to create a fresh new FORMULA ONE experience.

IT'S A FORMULA OF FUN FOR ALL - With instantly accessible pick-up-and-play gameplay, F1 RACE STARS will enable players of all ages and abilities to dive straight into position-swapping, wheel-to-wheel competition. With up to 4-players competing in split-screen multiplayer, head-to-head competition or coming together in teams, F1 RACE STARS is perfect for sharing the fun with friends and family. Up to 12 players can also race in online multiplayer and by signing up to RaceNet, the free online extension for Codemasters Racing games, players can track their races, rivals and rewards and join in regular F1 RACE STARS community events.

A NEW WORLD OF FORMULA ONE - Race circuits that take inspiration from the most exciting tracks from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP will bring a new world of FORMULA ONE alive as each becomes a fantasy racing theme park featuring jumps, multiple-routes, shortcuts, and more. Gamers will negotiate Spa's iconic Eau Rouge with a range of power ups before taking on a death-defying loop-the-loop in Belgium, race across speeding bullet trains in Japan and hit the accelerator to leap the swimming pool at Monaco and much, much more.