Sir Lewis Hamilton REFUSES to vote for Driver of the Year award, with Brit the only F1 driver to snub secret ballot and Max Verstappen taking top spot again

Sir Lewis Hamilton chose no to vote for the Driver of the Year award Max Verstappen won the prize with Hamilton the only driver not to vote 

Sir Lewis Hamilton refused to vote for the Formula One Driver of the Year award.

As reported by The Sun, Hamilton was the only driver who didn’t vote, with Max Verstappen securing the prize for the third year in a row.

Verstappen won 19 out of the 22 races and also set a new record with 575 points.

Hamilton finished in second place in the Driver of the Year award ahead of Fernando Alonso, who was third.

Sergio Perez won two races and finished second in the Formula One standings but was only in tenth place in the Driver of the Year award.

Sir Lewis Hamilton was the only driver not to vote for the Formula One Driver of the Year award

Max Verstappen, who won 19 out of 22 races, secured the Driver of the Year award

Hamilton has won the award on eight occasions but chose not to participate in the voting this time.

In the vote drivers are allowed to select themselves, with a top ten being chosen. The driver in first place gets 25 points, with tenth place getting one point.

Hamilton held talks with Red Bull and Ferrari before he signed a new deal with Mercedes.

The star put pen to paper on a £100million deal in August to remain with Mercedes.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealed that he held discussions with Hamilton.

Horner said: ‘We have had several conversations over the years about Lewis joining.

‘They have reached out a few times. Most recently, earlier in the year, there was an inquiry about whether there would be any interest.

‘He met John Elkann (Ferrari chairman), too. I think there were serious talks.

‘It was around Monaco (in May). There were definitely conversations, perhaps with Vasseur, too. But certainly with Elkann.

‘But I can’t see Max and Lewis working out together. The dynamic wouldn’t be right. We are 100 per cent happy with what we have.’

Sergio Perez only finished in tenth place in the award despite being second in the standings