Verstappen, Red Bull and Bagnaia nominated for Laureus Awards

Verstappen won the prestigious trophy last year following his intense title win over Lewis Hamilton and is one of the six nominees for 2022 after cruising to a second F1 title with Red Bull.

The Dutchman took 15 race wins in 2022, breaking the all-time record previously shared by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, as he wrapped up the championship with four races to spare.

But Verstappen will face fierce opposition from his five fellow nominees, including football superstars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

Aged 35, Messi finally guided his Argentina team to its first World Cup glory since 1986, playing a pivotal role in its final win over France in Qatar.

Mbappe too starred in the Lusail final, scoring a hat-trick before France capitulated in a penalty shoot-out.

Tennis icon Rafael Nadal joins the list off the back of his second Australian Open win and his 14th victory at Roland Garros, which came after frequent injury spells.

Pole vault phenom Mondo Duplantis is nominated after winning the 2022 world title with another world record of 6m21, as the Swedish-American cemented his place as the hottest property in track and field athletics.

The last name on the six-man shortlist is NBA star Stephen Curry, who was voted the NBA Finals MVP after helping the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics.

Alongside Verstappen, previous F1 winners of the Sportsman of the Year award include Michael Schumacher, who won it twice in 2002 and 2004, and Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

The Red Bull Racing team celebrate at the podium

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull Racing has also been nominated as the World Team of the Year, facing competition from Messi's Argentina, England's women's football team, France's male rugby team, the Golden State Warriors and men's football team Real Madrid.

MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia has also been nominated in the category Comeback of the Year, after clinching the 2022 title for Ducati from 91 points down.

The Italian was nominated alongside Manchester United and Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen, who returned to the highest level of football months after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark's Euro 2020 opener against Finland in 2021.

Other nominees include golf icon Tiger Woods, women's road cycling world champion Annemiek van Vleuten, 5000m track world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Curry's NBA team-mate Klay Thompson.