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Max Verstappen now has something in common with the likes of Lionel Messi, Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher: a Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.
The Red Bull driver earned the prestigious honor after narrowly beating out seven-time world champ Lewis Hamilton to claim his first Formula 1 world championship during the 2021 season. Verstappen was announced as the recipient following a dominant victory in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
“I was very happy, of course, but it was a lot of hard work and years of preparation. I’m incredibly proud,” Verstappen said in a statement after being announced as the winner of the award. “Since I was a little kid I dreamt of being on the top step and winning the championship. I said to my dad [former Formula 1 driver Jos Verstappen], ‘We did it, this is what we worked for all these years and now we are here, the two of us, all the memories, all the years of traveling all over Europe, going for that one goal and we achieved it.”
Verstappen, 24, beat out a star-studded list of nominees that included Eluid Kipchoge, Novak Djokovic, Robert Lewandowski, Tom Brady and Caleb Dressel.
Consistency was the key to Verstappen’s success in 2021 as he claimed 10 pole positions, 10 victories and finished on the podium a record 18 times last season. He closed out the year by clinching the world championship in dramatic fashion, passing Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a controversial finish to the season-long battle between the two top drivers. He became the first Dutch driver to ever win a Formula 1 world championship.
“I’m the first Dutch driver to win the world championship, so the reaction back in Holland was amazing from all the newspapers and fans, it’s something we’ll never forget,” Verstappen added. “It means a lot to be recognized for this award, one of the highest ones in the world, so I’m incredibly happy.”
Verstappen was recognized alongside Jamaican Olympic sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, who was named Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. British tennis star Emma Raducanu claimed the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award and motorcycle racer Valtentino Rossi won the Laureus Sporting Icon Award.
