Overview
- In a secret ballot scored with F1’s points system, eight teams participated while Red Bull and Ferrari abstained, resulting in Max Verstappen earning a fifth consecutive No. 1.
- The principals’ top 10 ranked Verstappen first, followed by Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Oliver Bearman, Isack Hadjar and Nico Hulkenberg.
- Team bosses cited Verstappen’s late-season charge — six wins in the final nine races — even as Norris secured the title in Abu Dhabi by two points.
- A separate drivers’ peer vote also placed Verstappen first for the fifth straight year with Norris second, and then George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc completing the top five.
- Four drivers did not take part in the peer ballot — Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda — and Hamilton was absent from the final top 10 for the first time.