As a child, I remember the anticipation of receiving a new toy. This was pre-internet when the virtual world only existed in your mind. Often it was one photo in a newspaper or magazine with a short description that conjured up the desperate need and want. Then there was the wait, either to save up pocket money or maybe a birthday present or even for the next international trip my father from time to time undertook for his work.
Back then the destination for fabulous and almost ridiculously cheap shopping was Singapore, although, any purchase was dictated by available luggage space.
It wasn’t uncommon for those hopes to be dashed. The new toy wasn’t what the expectations had built to within my mind and for a child, it was difficult to unpack that emotional let-down. Sometimes the new would be parked aside, and I returned to the old toy-box which didn’t quite have that shine anymore.
Already there is much talk about Max Verstappen existing his Oracle Red Bull Racing team at the end of the 2025 season. Speculation, and it is reported that conversation within the F1 paddock is rife with the options that he may have before him already. Two teams dominate discussions – Mercedes and Aston Martin and some even say that the deal is done!
It would be most interesting to be a fly on the wall for contract negotiations for any of the F1 drivers. Even for those that stay with their current team and find out about the coming season’s car. So many stakeholders within the team will be wanting/promising/ expecting something better than the previous offering. Now we have the virtual world where the driver is able to participate in a test simulation of the latest offering before the reality is in front of them.
Imagine, as a driver, the reaction of their first few laps of the actual F1 car. They say that Jenson Button immediately knew that his Brawn GP car was going to be quick heading into the 2009 season in which he went on to win the World Championship title.
What of those that had their hopes and expectations dashed and the realisation that they were in for a tough and long season. After just missing out on his eighth drivers’ title in 2021, Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was literally a mid-field runner for the 2022 season, dogged by a porpoising headache of a chassis. He must have known quite early that he would not be a title contender that year.
Did Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen immediately realise that the 2025 chassis would be a dog? Since then, it’s been a roller-coaster couple of months for Lawson. Few will realise and understand the set of emotions that he has had to unpack and work through. He had his new toy taken away and has to now play with his old Racing Bull and no doubt the shine is not there anymore.
As we head to Jeddah and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix there is a sense that he may be coming to grips with the old and even beginning to enjoy it.
“Looking forward to being back in the car this weekend to round out the triple header,” said Lawson. “It’s been good to have two weekends in the car and really getting to grips with what we need to do; we just need to take the learnings from the last few races so that everything can come together and we can maximise the performance in Jeddah this weekend.”
Sometimes that old toy is that much better than the parked-up new one.
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