Max Verstappen reacts after matching Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher achievement

Max Verstappen prevails in world title shoot-out

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Max Verstappen has reacted after being nominated for a Laureus Award. The Dutch driver has followed in the footsteps of both Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in being in contention to win the prize having claimed the F1 title in 2021. He’ll go up against some of sport’s biggest names when it comes to scooping yet another accolade.

Verstappen was trailing Hamilton on the final lap of the season in Abu Dhabi in December.

But an incident involving a safety car ultimately allowed the Red Bull star to reign supreme and claim the first championship of his career.

While Hamilton and Mercedes have made plenty of complaints in the time since then, Verstappen has been basking in the glory of being the sport’s newest winner.

Now, he’s been nominated for a Laureus Award.

And, speaking on his official website, the 24-year-old thanked his ‘Orange Army’ for all their support.

“First of all, a big thank you to the media for the nomination of the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award,” he said.

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“It’s great to be nominated for this award after such an intense season.

“The biggest thank you goes to my team Red Bull Racing who, together with Honda, gave me a winning car.

“As a team, we fought for years to improve and close the gap, and we finally succeeded. It’s fantastic to be world champion.

“I also want to say a huge thank you to the fans who support me, because it’s great to see the Orange Army around the world.”

Verstappen will face big competition when it comes to winning the prize, however.

Novak Djokovic is also in contention, with the Serb winning three of tennis’ four Grand Slams last year.

However, he was unable to defend his Australian Open title this year after a bitter stand-off with the authorities that ultimately led to his deportation.

NFL icon Tom Brady has also been nominated, with the American recently announcing his retirement.

Caeleb Dressel and Eliud Kipchoge are also in the mix after shining in swimming and long-distance running respectively.

And Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is another person up for the award after shining for the Bundesliga giants last term.

Meanwhile, Verstappen is currently preparing himself for the start of the new F1 season.

And with the new campaign creeping closer, Helmut Marko has admitted he fears the Red Bull star retiring early if his intense rivalry with Hamilton continues.

“We were all at the limit,” Marko told Autorevue.

“And you are also much more susceptible to the flu.

“Thank God some people only got the coronavirus after Abu Dhabi [team principal Christian Horner amongst them]. That was good timing.

“And Max also said that he couldn’t stand such an intensity anymore.

“He still wants to drive for a while, but if that’s the case every year, then it [his career] is limited.”

Marko’s comments come just days after he’d expressed a belief that Verstappen would never join Mercedes.

The Red Bull chief said earlier in the week: “I do not think that Max will leave us then.

“The events at Silverstone have left too big a crack, especially with Jos.

“I think that makes him less likely to switch sides.”

The new F1 season is due to begin next month.

The first race of the season is in Bahrain on Sunday March 20, though the first practice session takes place two days before on March 18.

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