Is Max Verstappen really the best sportsman in the world?
Opinions differ on that. ‘Sitting in a car and stepping on the accelerator and then you’re the sportsman of the world? It’s getting crazier,” someone quickly responded to this newspaper’s Twitter message, containing the news that Verstappen was the first Dutchman to ever win the prize.
It was characteristic of the sentiment that plays in just about every sports prize Verstappen is nominated for. Verstappen was preferred at the Laureus Award over swimmer Caleb Dressel, marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge and tennis player Novak Djokovic. In other words, all athletes who are primarily responsible for their own performance. Verstappen trumped them all on Sunday, even if he is not demonstrably the strongest or fastest.
For him, it is mainly his car that determines how successful he is. In 2016, statisticians from the University of Sheffield concluded that the influence of a Formula 1 driver on his race result is about 14 percent. They arrived at that percentage by using mathematical models to analyze all races between 1979 and 2014. Without a top car, Verstappen cannot excel. That fact had no consequences for him at the Laureus Awards.
What are the criteria for the Speedwell Award?
There are none. The global title of honor was created in 2000 by luxury goods company Richemont and car manufacturer Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes. The trophy’s site only states that ‘the biggest names’ qualify, with the relatively vague description that ‘exceptional performance’ is the norm.
It does not alter the fact that Verstappen survived a considerable selection before he was allowed to receive the trophy, designed by jeweler’s house Cartier. First of all, the nomination panel of more than a thousand sports journalists from seventy countries decided to nominate him. He then turned out to be the most popular after an anonymous vote within the so-called Laureus academy. Of these, 71 prominent former athletes are members.
How is the choice for Verstappen viewed in the sports world?
Fellow athletes reacted only positively to Verstappen’s election on Monday. They know better than anyone what he has to do, leave and be able to do to excel in a world sport like Formula 1. The pressure is permanent and enormous, especially with a top team. Every moment of carelessness at over 300 kilometers per hour is under a magnifying glass.
Two-time F1 champion Mika Häkkinen, member of the Laureus academy, emphasized in his jury comment that Verstappen is a unique sportsman. ‘Everything physical is trainable. You can perfect muscles and nutrition. But what happens in the head is another story. How do you stay focused? How do you maintain your confidence and motivation? That is a journey of many years, which has made Verstappen a special driver.’
Furthermore, with the prize, Verstappen has received recognition from, to say the least, not the least from the sports world. The Laureus Academy is full of sports legends, from Franz Beckenbauer and Sergei Boebka to Chris Hoy and Michael Johnson. Ruud Gullit is the only Dutch member of the academy. That weighty company also earned the Laureus Awards their prestigious aura as the ‘Oscars of the Sports World’.
Who actually preceded Verstappen?
Especially individual athletes from world sports. Tennis player Roger Federer was named the best sportsman in the world the most: five times. Following him are tennis player Novak Djokovic and sprinter Usain Bolt (both four times). Verstappen is the fourth Formula 1 driver to receive the prize. Michael Schumacher (twice), Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton preceded him.
Famous team athletes appear to have considerably less chance. Lionel Messi was the first footballer and team athlete to win the title in 2020. Global allure also seems important. NBA star LeBron James, for example, has never won a Laureus Award. The same goes for celebrities from other sports that are mainly big in the US, such as baseball, ice hockey and American football.
Isn’t it more of a popularity contest than a sports prize?
It seems so. Verstappen is the reigning champion in one of the greatest sports in the world; nearly half a billion TV viewers around the world saw at least one race last year. Before that, Verstappen made a name for himself with his daring driving style, no-nonsense attitude off the track and the milestones he recorded as the youngest F1 driver ever.
Due to his recent contract extension at Red Bull, he is now one of the highest paid athletes in the world, with an annual salary of reportedly 50 million euros.
Last season he won his first title in one of the most exciting years ever in Formula 1, after relatively uneventful seasons in which Mercedes reigned. Verstappen’s title fight with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton lasted until the very last round in Abu Dhabi. The denouement, which attracted nearly 110 million viewers, returned worldwide in newspapers and news. It was the last push for Verstappen to his Laureus Award, according to the words of academy member Ruud Gullit: ‘Formula 1 has not seen such an end for a long time. Max gave his sport the spark it needed.’