On Wednesday evening, the Laureus Sports Awards were presented in Madrid. These prestigious awards are often referred to as ‘the Oscars of the sports world’. Max Verstappen was nominated for the title of Sportsman of the Year for the fourth consecutive time, but lost this honor to Swedish pole vaulter Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis. McLaren missed out on the title of Team of the Year.
Formula 1 seemed to be the big loser at the 2025 Laureus Sports Awards. Despite Max Verstappen’s achievements – who last year won his fourth consecutive world title – he was not named Sportsman of the Year. This is the third year in a row that Verstappen has missed out on this award; in 2023 and 2024 he lost to footballer Lionel Messi and tennis player Novak Djokovic, respectively. In 2022, after winning his first Formula 1 World Championship, Verstappen did receive the award. This year, it was Swedish pole vaulter Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis who took the honor. The Olympic champion and world record holder secured the title after an extraordinary season in athletics.
No Prize for McLaren
The McLaren team also had to be content with just a nomination for the title of Team of the Year. The papayas were nominated for winning the constructors’ title, the first since 1998. However, the award went to Real Madrid – the football club of coach Carlo Ancelotti won both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
Other winners included gymnast Simone Biles (Sportswoman of the Year), footballer Lamine Yamal (Best Newcomer), the Kick4Life foundation (Charity of the Year), tennis player Rafael Nadal (Sports Icon), and swimmer Jiang Yuyan (Disabled Athlete of the Year).
