F1 Secret Santa: Ranking the drivers’ gifts from worst to best

Elizabeth Blackstock 25 Dec 2024 1:30 PM

Alex Albon Formula 1 secret Santa Williams PlanetF1

Alex Albon was one of 14 Formula 1 drivers to take part in 2024's Secret Santa gift exchange.

It’s that time of year again. The decorations are up, the presents exchanged, and, if you’re lucky, the snow has been falling. It’s officially Christmas — but how do our Formula 1 driver rank on the gift-giving scale?

Each year, a handful of F1 drivers take part in a Secret Santa gift exchange — and we’re ranking each driver based on the thoughtfulness and quality of the gift they gave!

Ranked: Formula 1’s best gift-givers

13. Pierre Gasly

Bought for: Lance Stroll
Gift: Personalized FC Versailles jersey

Perhaps it’s just Lance Stroll’s cool Canadian demeanor, but he didn’t seem particularly excited about receiving a personalized jersey from the football club Pierre Gasly has invested in.

12. Franco Colapinto

Bought for: Yuki Tsunoda
Gift: Yerba-maté and a coffee cup

Franco Colapinto made one of the cardinal sins of gift giving: He purchased a gift based on his own cultural background and not with thought toward the recipient. Yuki Tsunoda seemed perplexed by a gift of yerba-maté — then mentioned drinking it before bed, which may not be the best choice for a caffeinated beverage.

11. Liam Lawson

Bought for: George Russell
Gift: So You Want to Be a Model? book and a bracelet

While I appreciate the effort Liam Lawson went into in pasting George Russell’s face to a book titled So You Want to Be a Model?, I have to be honest: George Russell is already doing fine in that regard. He doesn’t need a book to teach him how to serve.

10. Yuki Tsunoda

Bought for: Charles Leclerc
Gift: Dog toys for Leo

I’ve personally always been of the opinion that pets deserve their own gifts, and that pet owners should not be given gifts on behalf of their pets. Sadly, this is just what Yuki Tsunoda did by gifting Charles Leclerc toys for his dog, Leo, thus earning Tsunoda a slot on the latter half of this list.

9. Alex Albon (tied)

Bought for: Oscar Piastri
Gift: Padel lessons

Alex Albon is one of two drivers to purchase padel lessons for a competitor — and if multiple folks opted for the same gift, then it was simply too low of a bar.

9. George Russell (tied)

Bought for: Lando Norris
Gift: Padel lessons

Lando Norris seemed a bit offended at the idea that George Russell had bought him padel lessons, which means the joke didn’t land!

8. Lance Stroll

Bought for: Pierre Gasly
Gift: Personalized padel shirt

Lance Stroll earns a few points here for going out of his way to personalize a padel shirt for Pierre Gasly, but as we’ve seen, padel seems like too low a bar for a truly thoughtful gift.

7. Esteban Ocon

Bought for: Valtteri Bottas
Gift: Triathlon training book and froggy goggles

Valtteri Bottas has already completed an Ironman in his own villa, and an Ironman far exceeds the strain of an Olympic triathlon. Thankfully, Esteban Ocon redeemed himself here by also adding in a pair of froggy goggles, to make swimming just a little easier for the Finn.

6. Zhou Guanyu

Bought for: Carlos Sainz Jr.
Gift: Chili pepper costume

Zhou Guanyu has found the perfect level of a joke-y gift: One that may not be relevant year-round, but that still speaks to the recipient’s personality. As Carlos Sainz has firmly adopted the chili pepper as his personal motif, a chili pepper costume was a smart but silly buy — one made all the better by Sainz’s promise to wear it for a photo should Zhou score points. (He did.)

5. Valtteri Bottas

Bought for: Alex Albon
Gift: Panda golf driver cover

Alex Albon enjoys golf, and he also enjoys pandas, with the latter making an appearance on his helmet in Shanghai. That Valtteri Bottas called back to a motif from the start of the season highlights an impressive gift-giving attitude.

4. Carlos Sainz Jr.

Bought for: Franco Colapinto
Gift: Modeling clay and puzzle

One of the finest compliments a gift-giver can receive is watching their recipient crack open their gift immediately, and that’s exactly what Franco Colapinto did with Carlos Sainz’s gift. After a moment of confusion, the Argentinian immediately set to work building a clay model of a Williams, which he planned to leave with the team for Sainz’s arrival.

3. Charles Leclerc

Bought for: Esteban Ocon
Gift: RC drift car

Apparently, Esteban Ocon is a huge fan of remote control cars! While this was news to me, it was not to Charles Leclerc, who bought the French driver an RC drift car to enjoy over the holidays. Ocon suggests he might pass it off to a child, but he’d be missing out if he didn’t get some play in himself.

2. Oscar Piastri

Bought for: Liam Lawson
Gift: Lightning McQueen model car, with stickers

Liam Lawson has made his love of the movie Cars no secret, and it provided Oscar Piastri with a very simple solution to his Secret Santa gift. The young Kiwi driver looked genuinely excited to receive a Lightning McQueen toy and a set of Cars stickers!

1. Lando Norris

Bought for: Zhou Guanyu
Gift: Sweetcorn pillow

Lando Norris earns the title of undisputed gift-giving champion of 2024 thanks to the Sweetcorn pillow he purchased for Zhou Guanyu. For the uninitiated, Sweetcorn is the name of Zhou’s cat, and if there’s one thing every dedicated cat owner loves, it’s gifts of their sweet pet. In this case, the pillow was a smart call.