Red Bull's Max Verstappen Voted F1 Driver of the Year by His Peers

In addition to winning the 2021 World Championship and claiming his first F1 title, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was named the number one driver of the year in the poll conducted by fellow drivers who voted for their top ten names in the sports for the 2021 season. Earlier this month, the Dutchman defeated Lewis Hamilton for the title after winning his first world championship in contentious and dramatic circumstances at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi.

The 24-year-old won his first championship following a season in which he won 10 races and finished on the podium eight times. Hamilton, on the other hand, won eight races in 2021 and finished on the podium nine times. As reported by Motorsport Week, it is to benotedthat drivers from Mercedes and Red Bull, the two teams embroiled in such a tense title competition, as well as Alfa Romeo, declined to vote. Using the same points scoring method as every F1 race, a total of 14 drivers submitted their ballots. While first place earned 25 points, second place received 18, and third place had 15.

While Hamilton was ranked second, Lando Norris came in third, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari with Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasley placed at sixth and seventh, respectively. George Russell of Williams finished eighth, Estaban Ocon ninth, and Mick Schumacher tenth, leaving Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez out.

Verstappen also won a poll among F1 team bosses, beating Hamilton yet again. Mattia Binotto, Jost Capito, Christian Horner, Laurent Rossi, Andreas Seidl, Guenther Steiner, Otmar Szafnauer, Franz Tost, Fred Vasseur, and Toto Wolff were among the team principals that voted in, according to the official F1 website.

All ten team bosses were asked to submit their top ten drivers of the year, with the caveat that their individual rankings would be kept confidential. Drivers were given points based on the existing Formula One points system, with the top driver receiving 25 points and the bottom driver receiving one. To produce a ranking, the points were added together.