Verstappen Once Again Beaten To Award Despite Record Breaking Season

Wednesday, 27 December 2023 at 16:00

Max Verstappen lost another award despite arguably the most dominant season Formula One has ever seen.

The triple World Champion achieved in 2023 is what most F1 drivers won't even dare dream about. Not only did he win the third consecutive Championship, but he also won 19 out of 22 races of the season.

Despite all his success, Verstappen recently lost the battle for the Dutch Sportsman of the Year Award to Mathieu van der Poel.

Van der Poel became in 2023 the first person to win both cyclo-cross and road World Championships, and his achievements in the world of cycling are equivalent to Verstappen's in F1.

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The 26-year-old F1 driver recently lost another award as he reached "only" the second place in the European Sportsman of the Year Award.

The PAP European Sportsperson of the Year is a yearly award presented by the Polish Press Agency. The winner is announced each year on the second day of Christmas and is chosen by a panel of 27 international agencies.

In 2023, tennis player Novak Djokovic won the award for the fourth time in his career. He previously won the award in 2011. 2015, and 2018.

Similar to Verstappen and van der Poel, the Serb accomplished incredible success in his sport. Among other achievements, he finished eight consecutive seasons as World's no. 1, won 3 Grand Slam Titles, and secured his 40th ATP Masters Title.

Max Verstappen finished in second place for the award, and Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand Gustav "Mondo" Duplantis got third place.

Verstappen has reached the top three in the Sportsperson of the Year award twice before, in 2021 and 2022, but unlike other F1 Champions like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, he hasn't won yet.

Hamilton won the award in years 2014 and 2019, while Vettel won in 2012 and 2013. Other F1 Champions who won the award include Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, and Nigel Mansell.