Lewis Hamilton Shut out and Lando Norris Overlooked as F1 Bosses Deliver Brutal 2025 Verdict on Max Verstappen

Team principals named Max Verstappen the top driver of the 2025 season, leaving Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris out of their top 10.

Lewis Hamilton Shut out and Lando Norris Overlooked as F1 Bosses Deliver Brutal 2025 Verdict on Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris (via Getty), Max Verstappen (via Getty)

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The 2025 season of Formula 1 finally culminated with Lando Norris taking home the championship title victory. The Briton denied Max Verstappen of his record-breaking fifth consecutive title win this year. Now, with the 2026 season right around the corner, multiple team principals have revealed their rankings of drivers from the previous season.

Max Verstappen achieved the most number of race wins in the 2025 season despite suffering from massive performance issues. Meanwhile, Lando Norris was in a league of his own, but still clinched the title win by a mere two-point lead over Verstappen. Now, the team principals have spoken and revealed the list of the drivers they believe to be the most impressive around the year.

Among other team principals, McLaren’s Andrea Stella, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, Williams’ James Vowles, and others took part in the ranking. Interestingly, Max Verstappen topped the rankings for the fifth consecutive time. Despite Lando Norris winning the driver’s title, he was unable to best Verstappen in the standings. However, he was in close second.

Subsequently, Oscar Piastri gained one position from last time and ended up P3 in the standings, followed by George Russell, who moved up two spots. Fernando Alonso surprisingly occupied the fifth position, moving up four spots from the previous year. Then, despite clinching two podium finishes in his debut year with Williams, Carlos Sainz was only able to come in P6, one spot behind last year’s standings.

Charles Leclerc had quite a woeful outing in the 2025 season and came in P7 as per the team principals’ ranking. The rookies, Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar, took the two subsequent spots right above Nico Hulkenberg, who also achieved his career-first podium finish in the 2025 season. Surprisingly, Lewis Hamilton was not on the list at all following his nightmare of a session in his debut year with Ferrari.

Max Verstappen enjoys the off-season by playing sports in South America

Max Verstappen is one of the many drivers in Formula 1 who do not share all their off-season activities on social media. However, his friends or relatives often share pictures that feature him, which gives the fan an idea of what he might be doing during the off-season. As such, over the winter break, Verstappen was spotted playing Volleyball, presumably with his friends and close relatives.

Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

Kelly Piquet’s brother, Nelson Piquet Jr., shared the video on social media. The four-time champion is spotted enjoying the sport shirtless and playing on the beach. According to the reports, he is enjoying his vacation in Brazil and spending time with his friends. Verstappen is certainly a true athlete through and through. Despite being on vacation, he does not spend time resting or going to exotic locations; rather, spends it playing sports.

The 2026 season is right around the corner. The new regulations mean that no team and drivers seem to be the clear favorite for now. However, Max Verstappen has defied all odds and kept up with impressive results in Formula 1. Hence, it wouldn’t be surprising if Verstappen keeps up his winning pace and enters the coming season. For now, he is enjoying the off-season and spending quality time with his family of four.

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