F1 blasted by fans after vote result snubbed to give Max Verstappen win

Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 blasted by fans after vote result snubbed to give Verstappen win

F1 fans were left dismayed

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 22 December 2025 09:56 Updated: 10:32

F1 fans were left dismayed on social media, after what appears to have been a snub of an official fan poll from F1.

The 2025 season saw eight 'Overtake of the Month' awards handed out by F1, with Oscar Piastri winning that award on three occasions, Max Verstappen once, and Lewis Hamilton getting himself two of those awards.

At the end of the year, a vote on the F1 website pits all of those eight winners against each other to find the 'Overtake of the Year' winner, with Verstappen's move on Piastri at the Imola GP in May claiming the overall award this year, with F1 announcing the winner in a post on social media.

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However, one user took to X to suggest that Verstappen hadn't actually won the fan vote, posting a screenshot showing that Charles Leclerc's pass on George Russell at the Dutch GP had received 44 per cent of the vote, with Verstappen's move getting just 28 per cent of the vote.

This post has gone viral, and has got the F1 X community talking, with one user saying: "I can’t believe it. They are gifting their precious Max every awards they can," while another said: "Charles Leclerc overtake on George Russell will be forever the greatest overtake this season."

One user said: "Literally just make up the result next time why even do a poll lmafo."

One fan, however, offered a reason for the decision not to give Leclerc the award: "Leclerc was all wheels off track, maybe that’s why."

GPFans have contacted F1 for comment on the decision to snub the fan poll, but their website does say that they focus on on-track moves for the award, and that a fan poll is supplemented by an 'expert panel'.

As well as this, some fans have questioned the legitimacy of the screenshot showing the votes, suggesting that it was not taken at the end of the vote and that it was actually a much tighter poll than 44 per cent to Leclerc and 28 per cent to Verstappen.

Verstappen's overtake on Piastri

While there was some controversy surrounding the vote, there's no doubt that Verstappen's move on Piastri would be a worthy winner.

It has already won 'Action of the Year' at the FIA prize giving gala, and was described by Sky Sports F1 commentator Harry Benjamin at the time as one of the 'all-time first lap moves'.

During a start to the year that was dominated by McLaren, Verstappen pulled off the manoeuvre at Turn 3 on lap one of the race at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Verstappen produced a stunning late braking move, sweeping around the outside of Piastri's McLaren and catching the Australian completely off guard, and he went on to claim what was just his second race victory of the year.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen Charles Leclerc