F1 Verstappen named driver of the year. Leclerc seventh, Hamilton badly

Despite an exceptional season, Max Verstappen saw the 2025 F1 World Championship slip away, going to Lando Norris by just two points. The Dutchman from Red Bull, four times world champion, can however mitigate the bitterness of the abdication with a particular result: in fact he was elected Driver of the Year by colleagues and team principals after the classic poll at the end of the championship. According to the established regulation, each manager expresses his own preference. The same goes for pilots, who, however, can also apply directly. The vote is secret, while the outcome is announced on the F1 website. The eighth edition of this initiative did not spare some surprises.

the podium

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As already mentioned, Verstappen monopolized both rankings drawn up on the basis of preferences, even if he did not receive the vote of his team principal, Laurent Mekies, who, like his Ferrari colleague, Frederic Vasseur, preferred to abstain. The reigning champion took most of the votes thanks to his stunning late comeback, with six wins in the final nine rounds. Eight total victories in 2025, more than anyone else. Everyone agrees on the second place: the world champion Norris took second place in the two polls. Different opinions on third place. The drivers placed George Russell, winner of two Grands Prix with Mercedes, on the podium ahead of Oscar Piastri. The team principals, however, reversed the placings, placing the McLaren standard bearer in third position.

leclerc-hamilton far away

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Ferrari’s disappointing 2025 World Championship held back both drivers. Charles Leclerc finished in seventh place among the preferences of his colleagues and team principals. The Monegasque was also preceded by Fernando Alonso, fifth, and Carlos Sainz, sixth. Things went worse for Lewis Hamilton, even outside the top 10. In fact, the surprising Oliver Bearman placed in eighth place, ahead of the rookie Isack Hadjar. Tenth was Nico Hulkenberg, who, during 2025, achieved the first podium in his long F1 career. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is therefore also excluded after his first season with Mercedes.