--- title: "Formula Sushi Racing Is What the Internet Was Like in 2002" description: "Watching pieces of sushi race each other around a restaurant shaped like Suzuka Circuit at F1 speeds is even more fun than it sounds." date: "2024-03-14" modified: "2024-03-14" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/formula-sushi-racing-is-what-the-internet-was-like-in-2002" categories: - "Culture" - "News" tags: - "race car" --- # Formula Sushi Racing Is What the Internet Was Like in 2002 ![A plate of salmon nigiri races with F1-style broadcast graphics]() *\FERMATA STUDIO on YouTube\* There's a dusty corner of my brain that lights up only when I see the most incomprehensible stuff the internet can deliver. Sites like AlbinoBlackSheep and Rathergood made that place a rave in the early 2000s, with the most confounding things seven-year-old me had ever seen. And this morning, for the first time in what feels like aeons, a field of sushi plates racing around Suzuka took me back to that place of blissful bewilderment. I can tell you what Formula Sushi *is*, but I can't tell you why it exists. A YouTuber with a penchant for trains and strange 3D animation decided that "the sushi on the conveyor belt lacks a sense of speed," and that what the *kaiten-zushi* experience really needed was the full [Formula 1]() broadcast treatment. Imagine one of F1's sprint races, but instead of cars representing Saudi royalty and [gambling]() sites, the race was just between plates of raw seafood rested on rice. And instead of a track, they were racing around the counters of an escherian restaurant. (Hey, band name idea.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g51bxcY0CP8 At first, I thought I was watching one of those bizarre iRacing mods like [when people race cats](). The exhaust even sounds just like second-rate video game sound modeling. But it seems the race may be entirely pre-rendered, which would explain why the lighting is so good. So, no chance of downloading Sushi-zuka for your next league racing night. Not yet, anyway. Again, while I can tell you *how* this video came to exist, I'm having the damnedest time figuring out *why*. Someone had this idea, and then put a lot of effort into making it real. Someone really, really wanted to see a plate of [Atlantic salmon]() nigiri pass some tuna on the inside of [130R]()—sorry for the spoiler. But I've always been drawn to things I don't understand, and Formula Sushi is beyond my comprehension. And I have nothing but admiration for the kind of person who puts their time into a project this weird in 2024, rather than phoning it in with some [AI image prompt](). (Also, if Atlantic salmon keeps its game up, it'll be driving for Red Bull next year at this rate.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMefIjRwH3Y *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()