Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
Verstappen topping the poll is not a surprise, but who joined him in the top ten might be
With back-to-back Formula One Drivers’ Championships to his name, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen certainly has the hardware to make the claim that he is the best driver right now in F1. But he has something else to support that position:
The support of his peers.
For the fifth-straight year, F1 polled the full-time drivers in their Drivers’ Driver of the Year voting, and it was no surprise that the world champion topped the list. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who came in second to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, finished second in the voting.
Behind the two were the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who finished tied for third. Russell was the only driver from the Silver Arrows to score a win last season, with his first F1 victory at Interlagos. Hamilton finished without a win for the first time in his F1 history.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who finished seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, rounded out the top five.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the top ten drivers as voted on by the drivers themselves? Williams’ Alex Albon. Albon scored just four points last season, with a pair of tenth-place finishes — at the Australian Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix — and a ninth-place finish at the Miami Grand Prix. But Albon’s effort in a Williams car that was largely unreliable last season caught the attention of his peers, who voted him the eighth-best driver in F1 along with Sebastian Vettel, racing in his last F1 season, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez..
Williams is currently searching for a new Team Principal, after the retirement of Jost Capito. The team has yet to name a replacement.
Here is the entire list:
1 Max Verstappen
2 Charles Leclerc
3 Lewis Hamilton
3 George Russell
5 Lando Norris
6 Fernando Alonso
7 Carlos Sainz
8 Alex Albon
8 Sebastian Vettel
8 Sergio Perez
