Max Verstappen has earned the praise of his rivals, with the newest Formula 1 world champion leading our exclusive poll of his colleagues …
In the fourth edition of our driver-driver of the year survey, we asked this year’s full-time drivers to rate the performance of their competitors and to create their personal top 10 placement.
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The rules allow drivers to vote for themselves – although some, as in previous years, did not and not all put their own names on top – and they did so knowing that their placement would remain anonymous.
The scores were based on the current F1 scoring system, with the best driver on each list receiving 25 points while the driver in 10th place received one point. The lists were then combined into an overall top 10.
As in our team boss ranking, Verstappen beat championship rival Lewis Hamilton in first place, Lando Norris completed the podium.
The drivers voted Carlos Sainz fourth best, one place ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, while returnees Fernando Alonso, who took an impressive podium in Qatar, finished sixth.
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Pierre Gasly, who scored more than 100 points for the first time in his career and accounted for more than 75% of AlphaTauri’s year-long run, finished seventh ahead of George Russell, who scored four times in the Williams.
The Hungarian Grand Prix winner Esteban Ocon finished ninth – one place higher than in our team boss ranking – while rookie Mick Schumacher completed the top 10, although he did not score in his Backmarker Haas.
The following drivers took part in the vote (in alphabetical order): Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Nicholas Latifi, Charles Leclerc, Nikita Mazepin, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel
