Verstappen May Have Won the 2022 Laureus Award but Lewis Hamilton Has Been a Dominant Name in the Past

Lewis Hamilton is one of the most successful drivers in F1 history. The Briton dominated motorsport for over a decade. Even after losing the 2021 world championship title to Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, he’s still among the most influential drivers in the sport. For his F1 exploits, he has been nominated for the Laureus Award many times and even bagged some.

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Formula One F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 20, 2022 Third place Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium with a trophy after the race REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

The Laureus World Sports Award is an annual award that honors individuals and teams from various sports for their achievements. And that sports list also includes Formula 1, and many F1 drivers have won this award. Even Max Verstappen bagged one award this season. However, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have the most nominations for Laureus and are also the team with the most Laureus award wins.

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Lewis Hamilton and his history with Laureus Awards

The seven-time world champion made his F1 debut back in 2007 with McLaren. He was so phenomenal in his debut season, even Laureus got nominated for the “Breakthrough of the Year” that year. But fell shot against the French tennis player Amélie Mauresmo. Hamilton eventually won the “Breakthrough of the Year” in 2008, when he won his first world championship.

Hamilton again showcased an impressive performance in 2009 but lost the championship against Jenson Button. However, Laureus witnessed his performance and nominated him for the “2009 Sportsman of the Year” but lost it to the Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. Then Hamilton joined Mercedes back in 2013 and started dominating.

The 2021 Laureus Athlete Advocate of the Year is @LewisHamilton

While breaking records on the track on his way to a seventh @f1 title, Lewis has been a truly inspirational figure off it, using his platform to raise awareness of injustices worldwide

#Laureus21 pic.twitter.com/YOWCHhq2NC

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 6, 2021

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After joining Mercedes, he became a seven-time world champion. So, Laureus nominated the Mercedes driver for the “Sportsman of the Year” in 2015, 2016, 2018 to 2021. However, he only won the “Sportsman of the Year” in 2020, the same year he lifted his seventh championship title. Further, he shared that year’s Laureus Award with the Argentine soccer star, Lionel Messi. In addition, Lewis’ team Mercedes has also won the Laureus Team of the Year in 2018, the year they picked up their 5th consecutive constructors’ title.

Fast forward to last year, the 37-year-old failed to win the 2021 Sportsman of the Year award, but he bagged the Laureus Athlete Advocate of the Year Award for raising his voice against racism.

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Moreover, the seven-time world champion could have won the 2022 Sportsman of the Year. Losing the 2021 title to Max Verstappen led to Hamilton not even getting nominated for the award. Meanwhile, Laureus nominated his rival Verstappen for the award and he even ended up winning it.