Rivals to neighbours: Where F1 stars call home

The eyes of the Formula One world are on Abu Dhabi this Sunday, with the final Grand Prix of the year teed up to be one of the most unpredictable season finishes in years.

Three drivers – Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri – could all hypothetically walk away with the 2025 Drivers’ Championship depending on results.

All three have seven wins this season, with Norris currently sitting on 408 points, defending champion Verstappen just behind on 396 points and Australia’s Piastri in his rear view on 392 points.

No matter who takes home the title, it is guaranteed that the champion will be heading to the same place – Monaco – where it is understood that all three racers reside.

According to Formula One content creator Kym Illman, a total of 13 out of the competition’s 20 drivers – or 65 per cent of the grid – live in the tax-free city-state.

While many driver’s homes are shrouded in secrecy, some details are known about their international property manoeuvres.

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Max Verstappen

Four-time World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen has reportedly been living in Monaco since the day he turned 18, according to The Daily Mail.

The Red Bull driver reportedly rents a £16m ($32.29m AUD) apartment in Monte Carlo along the French Riviere.

The Daily Mailreported in August that Verstappen and his model wife Kelly Piquet were eyeing up their next property venture, planning to build a new home in Portugal.

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Verstappen and Piquet purchased a plot of land at a luxury development in Portugal’s Pinheirinho Comporta, an estate less than two hours south of Lisbon.

The estate is known as a luxurious, relaxing coastal destination with a golf course, a resort and a spa, according to The Daily Mail.

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Verstappen has spoken recently about wanting a bigger home, revealing on the Securing the Win podcast that he had been toying with the idea of designing his next home around a much larger racing simulator set-up.

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Lando Norris

The championship leader heading into Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris made the move to Monte Carlo in 2021.

He left his previous home in England for Monaco after that year’s season, announcing his move on Instagram.

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“Say hello to my new home!” Norris captioned the post.

“The place isn’t finished yet but I’ll be living here in Monaco when I’m not in the factory or at the track next year.”

During lockdown he gave a virtual house tour of his previous home in the UK for Sky Sports, providing glimpses at his car, racing simulator and collection of F1 memorabilia.

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Oscar Piastri

Much like his McLaren teammate, Aussie driver Oscar Piastri previously resided in the UK before making the move to Monaco in 2024.

According to CodeSports, the Melburnian made the move at the age of 23, buying up a luxe apartment in Monte Carlo where his neighbours include Novak Djokovic, Bono and Ringo Starr.

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Piastri admitted to CodeSportsin September 2024 that F1 drivers rarely spend much time at home.

“I think last season, we added it up, and it was maybe 100 (nights at home), so just over three months,” he said.

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Lewis Hamilton

Record seven-time World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton has not had a dream debut season at Ferrari, currently sitting sixth behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton is the richest driver in Formula One today, with an estimated net worth of $454.9m, according to GQ Australia.

Over the years he has put together an international property empire worth over $250m.

He owns one property, a $24.5m mansion, in Monaco – reportedly in the Fontvieille District along the principality’s coast.

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More is known about his London base, a $38m pad in Kensington.

The suburb in London’s West is best known for Kensington Palace Gardens, an exclusive strip which ambassadors and royals call home.

Hamilton’s home features a large entertaining space, leading out to a grand garden and a summer house. The main residence boasts four reception rooms and two giant bathrooms.

Across the pond, Hamilton also owns a winter retreat in Colorado, as well as previously owning a New York City apartment which he sold for $69.1m in 2021.

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In an interview with the BBC, Hamilton said he regards the latter as his main home.

“In my winter, I go to the mountains [in Colorado], which I really see as my main home, because it’s a house and it’s full of love and memories from people, the family that come every winter,” he said.

“Where I live in Monaco, it’s been somewhere I go back to and I’d call home but it lacks those memories.”

Hamilton is also understood to have purchased properties along Lake Geneva, Switzerland and in Milan, Italy, according to reports.

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Charles Leclerc

Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc also had a tough 2025, not picking up a single win despite seven podium finishes.

As the only driver actually from Monaco in Formula One, his Monegasque residence is not just for tax reasons.

Leclerc got engaged to French model and influencer Alexandra Saint Mleux in November, with the two living together in a Monaco apartment with views of the Mediterranean Sea, according to The Daily Mail.

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While little else is known about his European residence, reports emerged in May 2024 about the Ferrari driver buying up in the United States.

Leclerc purchased a waterfront home in Florida, at the Edition Residences in Miami’s Edgewater neighbourhood.

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Announcing the move on Instagram, Leclerc said: “Miami, feeling at home already … can’t wait.”

While the price he paid for the residence is undisclosed, The New York Post understands that the tower’s sky residences — one of which Leclerc purchased – begin at $4.7m.

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