Surprise F1 star dominates best driver vote

British drivers Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton — Photo: © LAT Images

GPFans F1 Awards

Surprise F1 star dominates best driver vote

F1 fans had their say on the best non-championship driver

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Monday 1 January 2024 14:57 Updated: 16:12

Although it was Max Verstappen that trampled over the competition during the 2023 F1 season there is another name fans have voted for as the standout star.

After helping turnaround McLaren's campaign, Lando Norris has been voted for as the best non-championship winning driver in the annual GPFans awards for the past season.

The new annual awards are voted for by you, the readers, with Norris winning by a dominant margin from established rivals.

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With Verstappen the undisputed standout driver of last season given he won 19 of the 22 races on his way to a crushing third straight world championship, it seemed only fair to recognise a best of the rest outside of the Dutchman.

Norris failed to win any of the other three races but with 42 per cent of the vote (at the time of counting) the British star saw off a sea of strong challengers.

Lando Norris (right) stands with McLaren CEO Zak Brown, team-mate Oscar Piastri and team boss Andrea Stella

Lando Norris was key in helping McLaren turn around their fortunes during 2023

Lando Norris celebrates taking a superb second place at the 2023 British Grand Prix

Lando domination

Norris nearly doubled the votes cast for world-title winning drivers including Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso who took third and fourth place in the world championship respectively.

Fourth place in the vote with 10 per cent was Norris's team-mate Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz only picked up three per cent of the vote despite being the only non-Red Bull winner of the season.

Although Norris only placed sixth in the world championship he still starred for McLaren finishing behind Alonso and Charles Leclerc by only one point.

Supporters appear to recognise that despite still failing to have yet won an F1 race he put in outstanding displays throughout 2023, with six second places finishes including his home grand prix at Silverstone.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Mercedes McLaren Lando Norris