Hamilton voted Driver of the Year by F1 team bosses

After wrapping up the season in style with a dominant display at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has been collecting accolades ever since that glittering night at Yas Marina Circuit.

Hot on the heels of receiving his 2019 Formula 1 World Championship trophy at the FIA Prize Giving Gala in Paris last week, the six-time world champion was voted the Best Driver of the Year by nine of the ten-team principals.

Team bosses polled by F1.com - Cyril Abiteboul, Christian Horner, Andreas Seidl, Guenther Steiner, Otmar Szafnauer, Franz Tost, Fred Vasseur, Claire Williams and Toto Wolff - chose Hamilton as the best of the best.

No big surprise, the Mercedes driver won 11 of the 21 races this season, eight in the first 12 races of the season which rendered the rest of the year almost meaningless. Where the title would end up was a foregone conclusion by the time the season went into the summer break.

Clearly team principals covet the driver Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has managed to keep happy for seven seasons since Niki Lauda pried him away from McLaren.

In turn, Hamilton has delivered five world titles for them, as well as playing a major role in the six F1 constructors' titles they have won in as many years. As has become his custom, the Briton was able to raise his game to a higher level, where and when required.

Next best was Max Verstappen who spearheaded the Red Bull attack this year with such aplomb, followed by Ferrari sensation Charles Leclerc who entrenched himself at the Scuderia for the long term by beating teammate Sebastian Vettel who bosses ranked fifth best.

Hamilton's teammate, Valtteri Bottas was fourth on the list but nearly 100 points down on his teammate's table-topping 169.

Alex Albon was the best-placed rookie, team principals clearly taking a liking to the former Toro Rosso driver who replaced Pierre Gasly at Red Bull for the second half of the season.

Although no match for Verstappen when he stepped up, the Thai racer quietly dialled himself into the team without fanfare and got on with the job, while delivering on expectations, which clearly impressed the 'big shots' in the pitlane.

While Hamilton and Vettel represent the old guard, with three rookies in the top ten, it is clear that the young guard led by Verstappen, Leclerc and Albon have also caught the eye of the people that make the big calls on behalf of teams they manage.

Notably, Lando Norris, who was outstanding in his rookie year with McLaren, only just made it into the team boss' top ten list but attracted 76% of the vote to scoop the Rookie of the Year title as voted by 86,922 fans, trouncing his rookie rivals Alex Albon (16%) and George Russell (8%).

Albon was confirmed the official 2019 Rookie of the Year at the FIA Prize-Giving Gala in Paris earlier this month. (Report by Roy Franco; Photo by Mercedes)

Top Ten F1 Drivers as voted by Team Principals: