Lewis Hamilton received the trophy to mark his sixth Formula One world title at the end-of-season FIA awards on Friday.
The 34-year-old Briton became statistically the second most successful driver in the sport after Michael Schumacher, when he secured enough points to collect the world championship at the US Grand Prix in November.
The Mercedes driver, along with Finnish team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who drove the Mercedes championship-winning car on stage in a dinner suit, both collected enough points for the team to win their sixth consecutive constructors' title at the Japanese Grand Prix in October.
The sixth title takes the German manufacturer level with Ferrari's record of six consecutive titles between 1999 and 2004.