Drivers vote Max Verstappen as the best of 2025 F1, George Russell on the podium. Max Verstappen has been voted Driver of the Year by his fellow Formula 1 drivers.

Max Verstappen has been recognised as the best driver of the season by his fellow competitors, while George Russell moves onto the podium. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton are both outside the top ten.

Max wins the drivers’ vote

The best remains him, Max Verstappen. Team principals had already said it, and now the other drivers in the Formula 1 paddock have confirmed it. The Dutch driver missed out on the 2025 World Championship by just two points, but for the fifth consecutive season his peers have elected him “Driver of the Year” in the traditional poll organised by Formula 1’s official website.

As with the team principals’ vote, the election system is very straightforward. All drivers are asked to compile a ranking, naturally submitted anonymously, listing the top ten drivers of the season from first to tenth place. Drivers are allowed to vote for themselves, but those involved in counting the ballots reported that many chose not to do so, and in most cases drivers did not place themselves in first position. The points awarded, which mirror the Formula 1 scoring system with 25 points for first place, 18 for second and so on, are then combined to create a final classification, which is shown below.

Russell on the podium, Leclerc fifth

With Verstappen predictably judged the best, there were nevertheless some differences compared to the team principals’ vote, starting with the podium. World Champion Lando Norris confirmed his second place even in the drivers’ ranking, while Oscar Piastri, who had finished third in the managers’ vote, slipped to fourth position on this occasion.

George Russell moved ahead of him, securing the lowest step of the podium in this specific ranking. Charles Leclerc also made progress: the Ferrari driver, somewhat surprisingly classified only seventh in the team principals’ vote, rose to fifth place this time. Behind him was his former team-mate Carlos Sainz, who was again judged to have produced a stronger season than his current garage neighbour Alex Albon, despite the Thai driver having scored more championship points.

Hamilton and Antonelli outside the top ten

Albon himself represents the only new entry in the top ten compared to the vote expressed by the managers. The Williams driver finished in eighth position, behind the ever-consistent Fernando Alonso and ahead of rookies Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar. Outside the top ten were Nico Hulkenberg, who had been tenth in the team principals’ vote, as well as Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Out of the 20 full-time drivers who completed the season, 16 took part in the vote. The drivers who did not cast a ballot were Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg. Finally, a notable curiosity: this is the first time since this poll has been conducted that the drivers have voted as the best a colleague who did not go on to win the World Championship at the end of the season.