Lando Norris F1 triumph ignored as Max Verstappen wipes floor with rival

Credit for photo: Red Bull Content Pool — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2025

Lando Norris triumph ignored as Max Verstappen wipes floor with F1 rival

The team principals have spoken.

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 30 December 2025 20:27

Max Verstappen has been named the best driver of the 2025 F1 season, despite Lando Norris' title win in Abu Dhabi.

The Dutchman came from 104 points behind McLaren to finish within two points of Norris in the 2025 drivers' standings, impressive considering McLaren's dominance.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, the team principals across the F1 grid were asked to submit a list of their top 10 drivers of the year to F1.

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They then handed scores out based on the current points system, with the top driver in each list earning 25 points down to one for 10th, and the scores were then combined to create the ranking.

Eight team principals participated with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur and Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies not submitting a list of their own.

Verstappen was voted driver of the year for the fifth season in a row, with reigning champion Lando Norris finishing second.

One fan responded to the result on X, and wrote: "You had a rocketship and won the championship and everyone said 'Verstappen is still better than you'."

Verstappen named driver of the year

Not only was Verstappen voted driver of the year by Toto Wolff, Andrea Stella and co., but the four-time world champion came out on top in the driver vote, once again ranking ahead of Norris.

In the team principal vote, Ferrari received their worst ranking in over a decade, with Leclerc coming in seventh and Hamilton not even featuring in the top 10 - the first time this has happened in the history of the vote.

Oscar Piastri was voted the third best of all the drivers, with Russell emerging in fourth.

In the battle of the rookies, both Ollie Bearman and Isack Hadjar made the list, with the Haas star pipping the Zandvoort podium sitter to eighth.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris