Alex Albon is Formula 1's most underrated driver, according to The Race's 2025 Fan Census that surveyed over 2000 people.
The Williams driver came out on top when The Race asked its audience to take part in the latest edition of the Fan Census, with 2028 respondents. Questions also focused on favourite drivers and teams.
Albon took 17% of the vote, with Alpine driver Pierre Gasly second with 13%. Nico Hulkenberg completed the top three with 10% and his Sauber team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto was fourth with 9% of the vote share.
Carlos Sainz was fifth on 8% with both George Russell and Esteban Ocon taking 6% each.
In the 2024 edition of the Fan Census, Yuki Tsunoda came out on top with 19% of the vote, but he'd fallen to ninth on the 2025 list with just 4% of the vote.
Albon actually maintained his 17% vote share year-on-year, with Hulkenberg dropping from 14% to 10%.
The most popular F1 driver
Current F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri topped our poll for the most popular F1 driver with 14% of the vote, knocking McLaren team-mate Lando Norris off top spot.
Piastri’s vote share increased from 10% to 14% year-on-year while Norris’'s shrank from 15% to 9%, dropping him from first to sixth.
Fernando Alonso rose from fourth to second with Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth; Leclerc was second in 2024 while Hamilton was fifth.
Max Verstappen was fifth in 2025 with 9% of the vote share, a 1% increase versus last year.
Rounding out the top 10 were Williams drivers Albon and Sainz, Russell and Ollie Bearman.
The most popular F1 team
For the second year in a row, McLaren has been voted F1's most popular team, but its vote share has decreased from 28% to 23%.
Williams is now in second place rather than Ferrari, increasing from 14% to 22%.
Ferrari is down to third, and its vote share reduced from 23% to 18%.
Mercedes and Red Bull have traded places for fourth place compared to 2024, with Aston Martin, Sauber, Haas, Racing Bulls and Alpine completing the list in that order.
The most popular F1 team principals
Our audience has voted Williams James Vowles as F1's most popular team principal with 26% of the vote share, with 2024 winner Fred Vasseur receiving a knock from 36% to 16%.
McLaren's mastermind Andrea Stella has moved into second place with 17% of the share.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is once again fourth but with fifth-place finisher Christian Horner now out of F1, Haas boss Ayao Komatsu now rounds out the top five.
