F1 world champion Lando Norris in race for prestigious award
Lando Norris nominated for a Laureus award after becoming F1 world champion for the first time.
Lando Norris has been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year award after winning his first Formula 1 world championship.
It is a first-time nomination for the McLaren driver, who ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign at the top of F1 by clinching his maiden world title in a nail-biting season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Norris pipped Red Bull’s Verstappen to the 2025 world championship crown by just two points to become Britain’s 11th world champion, and the 35th to claim F1’s biggest prize.
Norris won seven races throughout the season as he impressively overturned a 34-point deficit to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri with nine races to go to achieve his childhood dream.
The 26-year-old also ended a 17-year wait for McLaren to win the drivers’ world championship, with the team’s most recent being won by Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
Norris will now go head-to-head with some of the world’s biggest rising sports stars in the Breakthrough of the Year category.
Who is Norris up against in Breakthrough category?
- Desire Doue - French winger scored twice and assisted one goal to help Paris Saint-Germain win the UEFA Champions League.
- Luke Littler - Became the youngest-ever PDC World Darts Champion en route to completing the Triple Crown (World Championship, World Matchplay and Premier League).
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - became the fourth basketball player to win the NBA’s regular season MVP, Finals MVP and Scoring Champion titles within the same season.
- Joao Fonseca - 19-year-old debuted at all four tennis Grand Slam tournaments.
- Yu Zidi - Chinese swimming prodigy who won bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the World Aquatics Championships at 12 years old.
After successfully defending its constructors’ world title and completing an F1 world championship double, McLaren has been nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year gong.
Seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez has been included on a six-man shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year prize.
The winners will be announced in Madrid on 20 April.
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