Verstappen and McLaren nominated for Laureus award
F1 News
- Kimberley Hoefnagel
Max Verstappen has been nominated for the Laureus World Sports Award in the Sportsman of the Year category for the fourth year in a row. The award will be presented on 21 April in Madrid, Spain. It remains to be seen whether the Dutchman himself will be present at the award ceremony, as he was absent from the event last year.
Verstappen has thus been nominated for Sportsman of the Year, competing in this category against pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, cyclist Tadej Pogacar, tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and swimmer Léon Marchand. Tennis player Jannik Sinner was also originally among the nominees, but his name was taken off the list due to a ban.
Verstappen has been nominated three times before for the Laureus Awards, but has only received the prize once so far. He emerged victorious in 2022, after winning his first-ever Formula 1 world title. At the time, he won from runner Eliud Kipchoge, tennis player Novak Djokovic, swimmer Caeleb Dressel, NFL player Tom Brady and footballer Robert Lewandowski.
McLaren also nominated
The papaya team lead by Andrea Stella, have also been nominated in the world team of the year category following their 2024 season turn around which saw them go from 3rd-4th fastest team on the grid to eventually, the Constructors' champion, their first collective F1 title in 26 years.
However, the Woking-based team will not have it easy, with the Spanish national football team and Real Madrid, Barcelona’s female football team, the Boston Celtics and the United States national basketball team are its rivals in the world team of the year category.
Mercedes F1 remains the last F1 team to win the coveted award, havin clinched it in 2018 following their fourth consecutive Constructors' championship.
The Laureus Awards
Presented every year since 2000, the Laureus Awards are thought of as the most prestrigious ing the sports industry. Verstappen is not the first Formula 1 driver to have won this award. Michael Schumacher won the award in 2002 and 2004, after winning his fourth and sixth world titles. Sebastian Vettel took the prize in 2014, before Lewis Hamilton won it in 2020. The now Ferrari driver shared the top sport with Lionel Messi that year.
The Nominees for the 2025 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award are:
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) March 3, 2025
@carlosalcaraz
@mondohoss600
@leon_marchand
@TamauPogi
@Max33Verstappen
#Laureus25
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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