Max Verstappen earns fifth straight ‘Driver of the Year’ nod
Max Verstappen was voted the Formula 1 Driver of the Year by his colleagues for the fifth straight year despite falling short of his fifth consecutive world championship.
Season champion Lando Norris of McLaren finished second to the Red Bull star, with Mercedes’ George Russell, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounding out the top five.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz finished sixth, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon of Williams, Haas’ Oliver Bearman, and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.
Albon, Bearman, and Hadjar were new to the top 10 this year. Alonso moved up two places from 2024, and Leclerc slipped two spots.
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Notably absent from the list is seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who failed to crack the top 10 for the first time since the poll’s inception in 2018.
Using the standard F1 points allocation, drivers were asked to rank their top 10 peers. The top driver on each list received 25 points, down to one point for the driver ranked 10th.
Verstappen, 28, earned a top score of 25 points on six different ballots after a furious late-season comeback, winning six of the final nine Grand Prix races to finish just two points behind Norris.
Four drivers did not participate in the anonymous poll: Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll, and Yuki Tsunoda.
Published on Dec 30, 2025