Lando Norris has been snubbed by his peers despite winning the F1 world title as the drivers voted for the top 10 performers of 2025.
Norris became the first McLaren champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 in Abu Dhabi this month, when his third place finish was enough to secure the title by two points over Max Verstappen.
The Brit also helped the Papaya team achieve back-to-back constructor alongside Oscar Piastri, who finished third in the driver standings after leading the majority of the season.
Despite winning the championship, both Norris and Piastri faced considerable criticism throughout the season for failing to fully capitalise on having the strongest car.
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Norris left serious points on the table with some uncharacteristic qualifying performances such as Saudi Arabia and Baku, as well as his race ending crash with Piastri in Canada.
However, both McLaren's were also not helped by their own team, with disqualification in Las Vegas and questionable strategy calls also impacting their results.
Given these small but crucial errors, it isn't a major surprise Norris hasn't taken top spot in the annual driver vote, particularly when considering the performance of a certain four-time world champion.
Every driver has the opportunity to vote for their top 10 anonymously, with their scores going off the F1 points system as the top driver gets 25 for the top driver and the tenth gets one.
This comes days after the F1 team principals voted for their top 10, which went down rather controversially with fans on social media.
The drivers who took part in the eighth addition of the vote were: Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen's incredible run of winning six of the final nine races earned him top spot once again ahead of Norris, with Ferrari's Hamilton not even featuring in the top 10 for the first time ever in his career.
The Top 10 F1 drivers in 2025 voted for by the drivers
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- George Russell
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Fernando Alonso
- Alex Albon
- Ollie Bearman
- Isack Hadjar
The list features three new entries from last year with the two rookies of Hadjar and Bearman joining Albon in the top 10.
Another notable change from last year sees Charles Leclerc down from third to fifth following Ferrari's disastrous season which saw him secure seven podiums, as well as Alonso gaining two places up to seventh.
Topics: Formula 1, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Motorsport, McLaren
Tom Jenkins