F1 2025 stars as Christmas movie characters

Verstappen wearing a Christmas hat — Photo: © IMAGO

GPFans at Christmas

F1 2025 stars as Christmas movie characters

Here are some funny F1 driver-Christmas film mix ups

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 25 December 2025 19:57

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With the 2025 season over, and a long wait before 2026 rolls around, we thought we would take a look at some of the best personalities from this year and turn them into Christmas movie characters. Why not?

From Verstappen as the Grinch to Lewis Hamilton as Scrooge who just needs a warm hug and look back at the past to help him reconnect with the present, enjoy our list of F1 personalities as Christmas movie characters!

Max Verstappen: The Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

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He may be a four-time world champion, but that won’t stop Max Verstappen from having a good old moan on certain occasions, and being an all-round menace.

Take the Spanish Grand Prix, for example, where he appeared to purposely crash into George Russell in a display of real Grinch-like frustration.

But like The Grinch, Verstappen did seem to take on more of a warmer, calmer presence as the season went on, inviting joy into his home.

Was it becoming a father for the first time? Was it the fact that he never really felt like he was in a title battle until the last couple of races? We'll never know, but his lack of dastardly tactics during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix suggests he may just have matured a little.

Yuki Tsunoda: Kevin McCallister (Home Alone)

Abandoned just before Christmas? Known for their short temper at times, and even shorter trousers? I could be describing Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, but strangely the same also applies to Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda was sacked by his Red Bull team at the end of the season and is now danger of becoming F1's forgotten man, just as poor Macaulay Culkin was forgotten by Catherine O’Hara at Christmas.

Lewis Hamilton: Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol)

Poor old Lewis. He can't help being miserable.

As his 2025 move to Ferrari didn't live up to what he thought it might before the season, Hamilton appeared more and more downbeat as the season progressed.

At one stage, he even asked his team to sack him!

Just like with Ebenezer Scrooge, though, you can't help but feel sorry for Hamilton, knowing that he has been left burned by the past, namely his world championship loss in 2021.

Fernando Alonso: The Ghost of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol)

Alonso may be hoping for a third world title, but it seems that his championship winning days belong in the distant past.

As tensions with Hamilton resurface on the track from time-to-time - take the Singapore GP as an example - it appears the Aston Martin driver is still haunting his former rival, making the Ghost of Christmas Past the perfect part for Alonso to play at Christmas time.

Alternatively, Michael Masi could have played this part just as well.

Leo Leclerc: Gizmo (Gremlins)

Leo Leclerc burst onto our screens in 2024, following his adoption by Ferrari star Charles Leclerc and his partner Alexandra Saint Mleux.

As audiences fell in love with Gizmo in 1984, F1 fans have also become enraptured with the cute little creature, and following the sad death of Roscoe Hamilton this year, Leo has been the little bundle of joy we've all needed to cheer us up.

Christian Horner: Know-It-All (Polar Express)

The characters in this film are not given proper names. Instead, they are given descriptions of what the character is like, and anyone who has seen the film will know how annoying the 'Know-It-All' kid is.

He's always trying to snitch on his fellow friends on the train, for a variety of different reasons.

Sound familiar? Well he no longer has a job, but 2025 started with former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner constantly trying to find reasons why McLaren were so much quicker than his team, including dobbing them in to the FIA for an alleged water in the tyres trick.

This didn't yield any punishment from the FIA, but it did cause McLaren boss Zak Brown to poke fun at the Red Bull boss, and he eventually got his comeuppance, being sacked back in July.

Know-It-All kid also gets his comeuppance in Polar Express, after missing the real Christmas magic and the bell, thus leading to him not getting a personal present from Santa.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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