‘Incredible’ F1 star has now replaced Lando Norris as the most popular driver after thousands of votes

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Lando Norris was voted the most popular on the F1 grid in a poll conducted last year. But this time around, he’s fallen to fifth on the very same list.

In a sense, that may be the price of success. The last time the survey was conducted, Norris had only won a single race.

Since then, Norris has won eight Grands Prix and his McLaren team have become dominant, so much so that they could seal the constructors’ title in Singapore this weekend.

The problem with that explanation, though, is that teammate Oscar Piastri, who leads Norris by 25 points at the top of the standings, has replaced him. The Race canvassed the opinions of over 2,000 F1 fans from around the world.

Oscar Piastri has been voted the most popular driver on the F1 grid

It’s worth stressing that the vote share is tight, so it’s not as if Norris’ popularity has suddenly plummeted. The results only reflect the views of the fans involved, though The Race tried to capture as broad a picture as possible.

Piastri takes 14% of the vote, up from 10% last year. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (11%) climbs from fourth to second.

Charles Leclerc (11%) drops to the bronze-medal position, just ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton (9%). Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (also 9%) ascends into the top five, above Norris, as his run of dominance threatens to come to an end.

Williams duo Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon also feature in the top 10, along with George Russell of Mercedes and Haas’ Oliver Bearman.

Lando Norris defended Oscar Piastri after Azerbaijan Grand Prix mistakes

Ralf Schumacher says Piastri has become less ‘authentic’ now that he’s hunting for a championship. He called the Australian more ‘political’ than Norris.

Meanwhile, Dutch pundit Tom Coronel says Piastri isn’t the champion ‘we want to see’ because he’s not as ‘flamboyant’ as the driver on the other side of the garage. It appears that a large chunk of F1 fans disagree.

It was telling that Piastri was well received by the crowd at the British GP earlier this year even though he was going up against one of their own in the title race.

Speaking after #81’s highly uncharacteristic crash in Baku qualifying, Norris said Piastri is an ‘incredible driver’. He said critics don’t ‘realise’ how easy it was to falter on the claustrophobic street circuit.

He’ll expect Piastri to be back on form at Marina Bay this weekend for a critical race. Further errors will confirm that the pressure is getting to him, potentially opening the door for not only Norris, but also Verstappen.