Verstappen and Norris Arrive at Press Conference Playing with Yo-Yos
Drivers reportedly wanted it known they purchased battery-powered yo-yos
SUZUKA—Moments after voicing their frustrations with Formula 1’s latest regulations, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris arrived at the post-race press conference quietly playing with battery-powered yo-yos, offering answers to the many questions from those in attendance like “What do you mean? This is just how drivers get ready,” or “You could watch us do this for two hours, right?
Witnesses say both drivers appeared to be pros with their yo-yos, repeatedly sending them downward and letting them, what they call “sleep,” before making them return with a level of consistency far exceeding what they are doing with their cars.
“Up, down, up, down, so predictable,” Verstappen said, staring intently at the rapidly spinning orb. “It goes down, it comes back up. Same every time. That’s what you guys want, right? Entertaining stuff.”
Norris, standing beside him, nodded in agreement while pointing down when his yo-yo went down and pointing up when the yo-yo came back up.
“I mean, this thing does exactly what you would expect,” Norris added. “Isn’t this fun? I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun.”
The demonstration comes after both drivers openly criticized the current generation of cars, with Verstappen describing the racing as “not really racing anymore,” and Norris pointing to the unpredictable nature of energy deployment as a key factor in what he called a “yo-yo effect” throughout the field.
FIA officials were quick to downplay the incident, insisting the current regulations are functioning exactly as intended, even though no one said anything about regulations as the drivers talked about their yo-yos.
When asked to speak about the yo-yos, an FIA spokesperson said, “The current regulations are giving us great racing, don’t listen to them. I used to watch yo-yo competitions growing up, and they’re great entertainment. I wish I could have been good enough to compete, but I was more behind-the-scenes material anyway.”
Back at the podium, Verstappen appeared unconvinced, briefly pausing his yo-yo to address the room.
“If this is what racing is now, maybe we just bring these next weekend,” he said, holding up the toy. “At least then everyone is playing the same game.”
As the press conference concluded, both drivers packed up their yo-yos and left without further comment, leaving behind a room full of journalists quietly wondering what the hell those two are on about.