Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team are amongst the nominees at the 2021 Laureus World Sports Awards.
New Delhi, February 24, 2021: In 2020 Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven F1 world championships, while his team went on an unprecedented run of seven straight titles in the constructors’ championship.
Both are rewarded with a nomination for this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards, which celebrates the world’s greatest sportsmen and women.
Hamilton, who shared last year’s trophy with Lionel Messi, received a nomination for his exploits in the category Laureus World Sportsman of the Year on a shortlist featuring five fellow greats of world sport.
The shortlist also includes Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who won Roland Garros for a 13th time last year, Los Angeles Lakers NBA star LeBron James, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski as well as track and field athletes Armand Duplantis and Joshua Cheptegei.
In the category World Team of the Year, Mercedes has been selected alongside NBA champions LA Lakers, the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs, Argentina’s male rugby team and football giants Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Bayern and Liverpool each won their respective domestic leagues, while the German outfit also conquered the Champions League according to the reports published in motorsport.com.
Mercedes previously won the trophy in 2018 and has been on the shortlist every year since 2015. In addition to his 2020 win, Hamilton has been nominated on a further six occasions.
Previous F1 teams to win the World Team of the Year award include Brawn GP and Renault, while Red Bull received four consecutive nominations during its championship winning years with Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel won the award in 2014, with Michael Schumacher receiving the honours in 2002 and 2004.
Last year’s MotoGP champion Joan Mir was also included in the list of nominations, getting the nod in the World Breakthrough of the Year category.
The Suzuki rider will face off against Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback who led the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl, FC Barcelona football prodigy Ansu Fati, Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar and tennis stars Dominic Thiem and Iga Swiatek, who each won their maiden Grand Slam in 2020.
