Lewis Hamilton has been scooping up the accolades across a host of award ceremonies this winter after clinching a fifth world championship, and now he’ll have to find room for one more on his bulging CV after coming out on top in an exclusive poll of his fellow drivers…

Formula1.com asked this year’s field to assess their rivals’ performance across the 21 Grands Prix in 2018 by ranking their top 10 drivers. Drivers were allowed to vote for themselves and their indiviudal lists will remain secret.

Points were handed out based on F1’s current points system, with the top driver on each list earning 25 points down to one point for the driver in 10th. The lists were then combined to create an overall top 10 and there was one name who dominated the top of the charts.

Mercedes driver Hamilton, with 11 victories, 11 pole positions and 17 podiums from 21 races, was the clear winner in our inaugural Drivers’ Driver of the Year poll.

Max Verstappen was an impressive second, having had a stunning end to the year with five straight podiums. That’s two places higher than the Red Bull driver finished in the drivers’ standings.

The departing Fernando Alonso’s performance in an uncompetitive McLaren drew praise from those who shared a track with him as the Spaniard completed the podium. He was 11th in the drivers’ championship.

The top 10 in full...