Max Verstappen misses out on winning the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award
Reigning double world champion and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was defeated by football legend Lionel Messi to the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2023.
The Argentine took home the trophy after he capped off another stellar year by achieving his dream of winning the FIFA World Cup for his country in Qatar. Messi won the 'Best Player of the Tournament' in Qatar as he led his country to their third World Cup glory and their first since Diego Maradona's 1986 win. The PSG player also won the Laureus Team of the Year award.
Lionel Messi defeated the likes of fellow PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, Max Verstappen, and Rafael Nadal. The Dutch driver had previously won the award in 2022 for winning his first world championship in epic fashion, defeating rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the season.
The award has previously been won by F1 drivers Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Lewis Hamilton.
"Some people like to be more in the spotlight, some people don't" - Max Verstappen on pre-race introductions
The Dutch driver stated that he did enough preparation for the race and was not bothered by the pre-race introductions in Miami. Although, he claimed that he was not a fan big fan of these things.
In his post-race press conference, Max Verstappen said:
"To be honest, I did have enough preparation before, to speak to my engineers and stuff for the race. But yeah, personally, I think this is just a bit of a personality thing, right? Some people like to be more in the spotlight, some people don't. I personally don't. So for me, I think that naturally, of course, what they did today is not necessary."
"I prefer to just talk to my engineers, walk to my car, put the helmet on, and drive. But of course, I understand the entertainment value. So I just hope, of course, we don't have that every single time because we have a very long season, so we don't need an entry like that every time."
He continued:
"But it also depends a bit on the crowd, I think, in terms of what you want in terms of entertainment. So yeah, I think it's just a personal preference as well from the drivers. For me, personally not."
Since F1 infiltrated the US market, they have increased pre-race activities to appeal to the fans. These have garnered mixed reactions from drivers like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the former vocally against it.