He missed out on the world title by two points, but Max Verstappen was still awarded for the past Formula 1 season. The 28-year-old Dutchman was named the best driver in the premier class of motorsport for the fifth year in a row in an election among team bosses.
Lando Norris, who became world champion, and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished second and third in the election. George Russell (Mercedes) finished fourth and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) fifth.
Formula 1 asked the ten team bosses to cast their votes. Ultimately, eight did so: Fred Vasseur (Ferrari) and Laurent Mekies (Red Bull) abstained.
The other team bosses rewarded Verstappen for an impressive comeback in the second half of the season. After the Zandvoort Grand Prix he was 104 points behind the leader in the World Cup standings (at that time Piastri), after which he won six of the last nine races. As a result, Verstappen finished just two points behind champion Norris.
At the motorsport gala in Uzbekistan earlier this month, Verstappen won the prize for best action of the year for an overtaking maneuver past Piastri during the Emilia Romagna GP. The Dutchman himself was not there to receive the prize, because he had called in sick for the gala.
