Mercedes, Rosberg earn Laureus nominations

Nico Rosberg and Mercedes have both been nominated for the prestigious 2017 Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by the world’s media.

Having missed out on the world title in 2014 and 2015, Nico Rosberg has been nominated in the World Breakthrough Of The Year category for securing a maiden F1 crown last year.

The German will go up against world-record-breaking athletes Almaz Ayana and Wayde van Niekerk, and three teams who performed heroically in 2016: English Premier League Champions Leicester City, European Championship quarter-finalists Iceland and Olympic Rugby Sevens gold medal winners Fiji.

Mercedes meanwhile have secured a third successive nomination in the World Team Of The Year category, and will battle it out with European football champions Portugal, Champions League winners Real Madrid, Brazil’s Olympic-winning football team, baseball’s Chicago Cubs, and NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers for the prize.

F1 has a fine record for success at the Laureus Awards, with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel having both won the prestigious Sportsman Of The Year prize. Brawn GP and Renault are past winners in the Team Of The Year category, while Daniel Ricciardo, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Pablo Montoya have each scooped the Breakthrough award.

This year’s winners will be announced on February 14 in Monaco.