Lewis Hamilton makes ultimate Max Verstappen snub with vote boycott

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Max Verstappen picked up another accolade from his incredible 2022 season after being named Driver of the Year by his peers – although Lewis Hamilton reportedly ‘abstained from the voting’. F1 holds an annual vote among all its drivers where they get to pick their top 10 for the year.

Anonymity is one of the conditions of entry with drivers not wanting their list to be made public. The scoring in the voting works the same as a Grand Prix with the driver put on top of a list given 25 points and so on.

Drivers are allowed to vote for themselves, although F1’s official website states not everyone chose to do so. Verstappen came out on top ahead of Charles Leclerc with Hamilton joint-third with Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

Lando Norris, who was the only driver not competing for Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes to clinch a podium in 2022, was voted fifth overall by his peers with Fernando Alonso in sixth. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took seventh while Alex Albon’s impressive comeback season at Williams saw him tied for eighth with Sergio Perez.

But not all drivers opted to take part in the voting system, according to the Daily Mail. It is claimed that Hamilton was the only absentee from the annual event with the Brit ‘abstaining from the vote’.

The report also adds that Verstappen finished on 146 points, but it’s not clear what everyone else received. Hamilton also skipped the FIA’s year-end Prize-Giving Ceremony earlier this month, despite winning an award on the night.

The seven-time world champion was awarded the Action of the Year prize for his overtaking move on both Perez and Leclerc at the 2022 British Grand Prix. He similarly skipped the event in 2021 following the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he was later fined.

But he wasn’t required to attend this year’s ceremony as he didn’t finish inside the top three of the Drivers’ Championship. The Brit was embroiled in an intense battle with Verstappen for the 2021 championship, only to have it snatched away in dramatic circumstances.

The 2022 season was tipped as redemption for Hamilton before the racing had even begun, but Mercedes failed to build a car capable of challenging at the front. There is more optimism about the team’s direction heading into next year having shown great improvements in their car in the final few months of the season.

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