Norris taking the award won’t come as a surprise, as Norris has been the main contender in challenging Verstappen since McLaren brought a significant upgrade to their MCL60 car halfway through the season, securing seven podiums in his last 11 races.
It was Verstappen’s 17th win of the season from 20 races, a feat never matched by any other F1 driver in the history of the sport, as he stretched his championship advantage to 266 points over his team-mate Sergio Perez, who could only finish fourth after an epic battle with Fernando Alonso.
But even Verstappen’s team-mate Perez managed to attract a higher portion of support with 15.8 per cent after the Mexican fought hard against Alonso for the final spot on the podium only to miss out by a 0.053-second gap.
It is not likely to bother Verstappen, who says he is focused on winning the remaining two races of the season to cap an incredible season. But his lack of popularity with the fans points to why some are deciding to switch off after the sport’s rise due to the popularity of Drive to Survive.