Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has been named the 2022 “Laureus World Sportsman of the Year” after his title triumph last season in one of the most stunning title-deciders in the sport’s history.
The 24-year-old Red Bull driver of the Netherlands earned the prestigious annual cross-sport award after passing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to become the first ever Dutch driver to win the Formula One world championship.
The Dutchman, who is the son of former driver Jos Verstappen, has earned 10 Grand Prix wins and a record 18 podium finishes.
Verstappen is the fourth Formula One driver to earn the worldwide sportsman award. He follows the footsteps of former German racing legend Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Hamilton.
Already named Dutch sportsman of the year in December, the Formula One star dedicated his latest honor award to his father and his team, saying he couldn’t have achieved it without them.
“I said to my Dad ‘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 said.
Verstappen was nominated along with Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Olympic swimming champion Caeleb Dressel, and marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge.
Over the weekend, Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, scoring maximum points. It was his second win of the season and the 22nd win of his career.
Verstappen won from the pole and logged the fastest lap while leading teammate Sergio Pérez to the first one-two Red Bull finish since Malaysia in 2016.
“It’s always tough to achieve something like that,” Verstappen said of the perfect weekend. “We were on it. You never know with the weather how competitive you are going to be, but I think as a team we did everything well and this one-two is very deserved.”
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