Hamilton secured his 11th victory of 2018 on Sunday to add gloss to his World Drivers’ Championship triumph.
The Mercedes man is just the third racer in history to win five F1 titles – after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
Lewis Hamilton impressive record means most fans regard him as the top performer in the sport this year.
However, almost 80,000 F1 followers have wreaked havoc after Sky ran a poll to determine 2018’s best driver.
And the shock winner was Sergey Sirotkin, who drove for Williams this season.
The Russian had a campaign to forget as he collected just one point from 21 races.
That left him bottom of the World Drivers’ Championship standings, just behind Toro Rosso’s Brendan Hartley.
Sirotkin’s Williams team-mate Lance Stroll came in last place in the Sky Sports poll.
While F1 champion Hamilton was forced to settle for second, with Max Verstappen in third.
Hamilton received more than 35,000 fewer votes than Sirotkin, while Verstappen got a little over 30,000.
Charles Leclerc came in fourth, with Kimi Raikkonen, the man the Frenchman is replacing at Ferrari, was fifth.
The departing Fernando Alonso was voted sixth-best this year, with Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon rounding off the top 10.
Joining Stroll in the bottom three were Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.
Amid his shock defeat to Sirotkin in the poll, Hamilton tipped Vettel to push him to his limits again in 2019.
“It’s been a real honour and a privilege racing against Sebastian,” Hamilton said.
“I’ve known him since Formula 3 days and he’s always been an honest, hard-working racing driver and he has always raced his heart out. He did a fantastic job this whole season.
“There’s so much pressure on us all, so don’t every look at our shortcomings as anything less than us giving our best and Sebastian did.
“I know next year he’s going to come back strong, so I’ve got to make sure I come back with him, but I’m really grateful for the time.”
Hamilton and Vettel will be on the grid when F1 returns with the Australian Grand Prix next March.
Sirotkin, though, is set to be track side after Williams opted against retaining his services.