"Why is Charles Leclerc so low?": Fans react as Max Verstappen tops the F1 team boss driver rankings for 2025 season

F1 fans online have shared their reaction to the F1 team boss driver rankings for the 2025 season, as Max Verstappen topped the list again. However, many were left surprised by Ferrari man Charles Leclerc's low position in the list.

It comes as no surprise that, even after failing to win the drivers' title, the F1 team principals have voted Max Verstappen as the best driver throughout the 2025 season. The champion Lando Norris was not far behind, coming in second, just ahead of Oscar Piastri in third, rounding off the championship contenders.

Behind them, George Russell was fourth, while the Spaniard duo of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz was voted fifth and sixth, respectively. Notably, Charles Leclerc, who ended the season fifth in the championship, could only make it to seventh on this list.

F1 fans online shared their reaction to these rankings, with many left surprised, particularly at Leclerc's position.

"Why is Charles so low?," questioned one fan. "Leclerc demolished Hamilton & he’s P7. Team Principals really don’t rate Hamilton," joked another user. "What is Leclerc doing behind everyone but Verstappen," questioned yet another fan.

Here are some more reactions to the overall list:

"What has Alonso done actually? Let’s be Honest," said one user. "Sainz P6 and Albon not included is actually ragebait clearly even team principals are not free from recency bias," noted another fan. "Both Red Bull teams voted Max didn’t they lol," said another user.

Max Verstappen lost out on the title by just two points, but ended the season with the most race wins and pole positions in 2025. This did not look possible at the halfway stage of the season when the Dutchman looked to be out of the title race with Red Bull looking nowhere near McLaren's pace. Much like the fans, his turnaround seemingly impressed the team principals as well, who eventually voted him as the best driver of the season.

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Max Verstappen admits to being surprised by overwhelming support during the 2025 season

Max Verstappen at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen has shared that he was surprised to see so many fans rally behind him during his title charge against the McLaren drivers in the 2025 season. He then explained that he understood that this was because he was the underdog in this instance. When asked on Red Bull's Talking Bulls podcast about how he felt after seeing so many fans supporting him in 2025, Verstappen replied, saying:

"(It was) Surprising. Naturally, of course, with an underdog role, people will start to support you a bit more." "But I guess maybe they finally start to realise who I am, who I really am," he added.

Verstappen also denied that he has had a drastic personality change over the course of the year, claiming that he always aims to be authentic within the paddock. The 4x world champion also added that he has a good set of people around him who keep him grounded at all times.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar