Max Verstappen might have misplaced the world championship to Lando Norris, however RaceFans readers once more voted him their Driver of the 12 months.
The Purple Bull driver received extra grands prix than anybody else in 2025. He sat 104 factors off the lead with 9 grands prix and three dash races remaining, and recovered all however two.
Verstappen scored his first victory of the season within the Japanese Grand Prix, the place he narrowly out-qualified the McLaren drivers to take pole place and lead them residence. His second win got here at Imola, the place he brilliantly handed Oscar Piastri in the beginning and led the sector residence.
He endured a lean summer time as Purple Bull struggled to make their RB21 work at a number of circuits. However following a sequence of updates they managed to hit its set-up candy spot rather more persistently and he reached the rostrum in all the last 10 rounds, six of which he received.
It might not have been sufficient to proceed his run of world championship titles however RaceFans 55.8% of readers nonetheless voted him their Driver of the 12 months. Verstappen received by a large margin: he obtained over 3 times as many votes as Norris, who got here second within the ballot. Norris’s McLaren group mate Oscar Piastri got here third.
This isn’t the primary time our readers have picked somebody aside from the world champion as their Driver of the 12 months. This final occurred in 2016, when Daniel Ricciardo completed third within the championship however received the end-of-year ballot.
RaceFans F1 Driver of the 12 months ballot winners since 2010
2025: Max Verstappen2024: Max Verstappen2023: Max Verstappen2022: Max Verstappen2021: Max Verstappen2020: Lewis Hamilton2019: Lewis Hamilton2018: Lewis Hamilton2017: Lewis Hamilton2016: Daniel Ricciardo2015: Sebastian Vettel2014: Daniel Ricciardo2013: Sebastian Vettel2012: Fernando Alonso2011: Sebastian Vettel2010: Lewis Hamilton
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Formulation 1
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