In the end, Lando Norris was the most successful driver of the 2025 Formula 1 season. But was the McLaren driver also the best? The team bosses decided on this in an anonymous vote. Their verdict was clear.
Lando Norris may have secured the world title, but the Brit was not the best driver of the past Formula 1 season in the eyes of the team bosses. In an anonymous vote for “formula1.com”, those responsible chose Max Verstappen as their driver of the season instead.
“Super Max”, who “only” came second in the World Championship rankings this year, secured this unofficial title for the fifth year in a row. Small consolation for Norris: He defended his second place in the vote from the previous year.
Alonso the biggest winner among Formula 1 stars
In the eyes of the team bosses, the third best driver of the year was Oscar Piastri. The Australian was ahead in the race for the World Cup for a long time, but had too many weak performances towards the end of the season. However, compared to the previous year, he improved one place in the voting.
The biggest winner in the team boss top 10 of the year is Fernando Alonso. The old master got the most out of many races with his inferior Aston Martin and ended up in fifth place, one place ahead of Mercedes driver George Russell. While Russell improved by two places compared to 2024, Alonso climbed four places.
Since winners in Formula 1 also produce losers, three drivers in the top 10 were punished by the team bosses. Carlos Sainz fell one place to sixth place, Charles Leclerc even fell four places to seventh and Nico Hülkenberg fell two places to tenth.
New to the top 10 this year are the two top rookies Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearmann. The upcoming Red Bull driver ended up in ninth place in the vote, the Haas driver even in eighth place. Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly fell completely out of the top 10.