The Ferrari flop certified by F1 itself with secret vote: it had never happened to Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari struggles exposed: secret F1 vote ranks Hamilton outside top 10.

Max Verstappen may have finished second in the 2025 Drivers’ Championship, just two points behind Lando Norris, but he can console himself with a double recognition on the official Formula 1 website. The Dutch Red Bull driver was voted the best of 2025 in the annual survey among fellow drivers and team principals. In the ranking based on his peers’ votes, Max Verstappen finished ahead of the newly crowned world champion Lando Norris of McLaren and the other British driver, George Russell of Mercedes. This marks the eighth edition of the Driver of the Year survey, in which all drivers on the grid are asked to rate their rivals. Drivers are allowed to vote for themselves, as in previous years, but many chose not to. The vote remains secret.

The team principal ranking shows only one change: behind Max Verstappen and Lando Norris is Australian Oscar Piastri of McLaren, ahead of George Russell. Ferrari, on the other hand, endured a difficult season and finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, two positions lower than the previous year, which also affected the assessment of its drivers. Charles Leclerc could only manage fifth place in the drivers’ poll and seventh in the team principals’ vote. Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton suffered total disappointment, failing to make the top ten in either poll—something that had never happened in his career.

These secret ballots therefore serve as a “certification” of Ferrari’s current struggles. While McLaren and Red Bull continue to dominate the respect of the pit wall and the cockpit alike, the Italian squad faces a winter of deep reflection. For Lewis Hamilton, falling out of the top ten entirely represents a seismic shift in the F1 hierarchy, proving that even the greatest resumes offer no protection against a winless and podium-free season in the mid-field.