Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Max Verstappen may have been beaten for the Formula 1 title this year but he has been voted the top driver of the year by his peers.
The Dutchman came up just short in his quest for a fifth successive world title, finishing two points behind McLaren's Lando Norris.
However the Red Bull driver has been voted driver of the year for the fifth time in a row.
Formula 1 asked all the drivers to vote to rank the top ten of 2025.
Scores were given based on the current F1 points system, with the top driver on each list earning 25 points down to one point for the driver in 10th. Those totals are then combined to create an overall top 10.
Drivers were allowed to vote for themselves.
Verstappen's impressive finish to the season, when he won six of the last nine Grands Prix, helped him to top spot from Norris with Mercedes driver George Russell completing the podium.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was fourth.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make an appearance in the top 10 for the first time since this ranking began (2018) after a difficult debut season with Ferrari.
New Zealander Liam Lawson did not make the list but his Racing Bulls team-mate Isack Hadjar ranked tenth.
Four drivers did not participate in the anonymous poll: Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda.
2025 F1 Drivers' Driver of the Year
1/ Max Verstappen
2/ Lando Norris
3/ George Russell
4/ Oscar Piastri
5/ Charles Leclerc
6/ Carlos Sainz
7/ Fernando Alonso
8/ Alex Abon
9/ Oliver Bearman
10/ Isack Hadjar
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