Mexican fans plot Stroll takeover of F1’s driver-of-the-day vote

The Mexican Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez hasn’t even reached lights-out, but F1’s driver-of-the-day vote is already facing a coordinated assault. Fans have organized a push to put Lance Stroll at the top of the poll for the race that takes centre stage later today in Mexico City.

The driver of the day in Formula 1 is decided by the public, not by stewards, journalists or team bosses. Voting runs through the official F1 website, fans cast a single ballot each, and the sport keeps an official tally of which driver has drawn the most support. GPFans laid out the mechanics ahead of the Mexican round.

How the vote runs

Every Grand Prix weekend opens a fresh ballot, and the driver with the most votes at the end of the race takes the title. The fan base is global: the Spanish-language audience in the Americas votes with the same passion as the European paddock, and the poll stays open through the race itself. This structure makes the award unique in the sport. Unlike championships decided by points tables, there is no panel of judges and no secret scoring. Fans simply register their choice on the F1 site, and the tally updates as the race progresses.

Formula 1 publishes the result after every round under a standard question: who got your city’s driver-of-the-day vote? The United States Grand Prix and Singapore Grand Prix have already run their own editions this season.

Verstappen’s Malaysian marathon

Max Verstappen took the driver-of-the-day vote after a marathon Malaysian Grand Prix, as confirmed by Formula 1. The result crowned the Dutchman as the fan favourite following a relentless, full-distance race. Verstappen’s win shows that even the fastest driver on a given Sunday needs the crowd behind him to claim the award.

Perez’s pit-lane Bahrain rescue

Earlier in the season, Sergio Perez landed the same honour at the Bahrain Grand Prix. News18 reported that Perez’s first race for Red Bull opened in the worst possible way: he had to pit before the race even began, dropping to the back of the field before a lap had been completed. From there, Perez surged back to finish fifth, and topped the driver-of-the-day polling.

The Bahrain vote illustrates the award’s real currency, recovery and fight, regardless of the final classification. Fans consistently reward a driver who drags a car back through the pack from the tail of the grid.

Stroll’s fan takeover plot

The latest twist ahead of the Mexican race is a coordinated campaign designed to hand the vote to Lance Stroll. GPFans reported that F1 fans have plotted a Stroll takeover of the driver-of-the-day vote for the Mexican leg, mobilising supporters through the open-access F1 website. The outlet also noted that the driver-of-the-day system gives fans around the world a chance to vote on which F1 star has had the best race, making regional fan bases a decisive factor.

With the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez drawing one of the biggest crowds of the season, the Stroll push has become one of the talking points of the weekend itself. Whether he earns the title on merit or through sheer fan organisation remains the open question as the race approaches.

The ballot for the Mexican race will close once the chequered flag falls at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. F1 will then tally a vote that may reflect social-media power more than speed on track.