Hamilton and Mercedes earn Laureus nominations after stellar 2018

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes won’t forget 2018 in a hurry, after overcoming a strong Ferrari challenge to claim the team’s fifth successive Formula 1 double world championship. And they’ve both been rewarded for their efforts with a nomination for the prestigious 2019 Laureus World Sports Awards.

Hamilton's comes in the World Sportsman of the Year category, where he faces competition from world number one tennis star Novak Djokovic, basketball icon LeBron James, marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and two footballers: FIFA World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe and Ballon d'Or winner Luca Modric.

The British driver was the stand-out performer on the F1 grid last season, getting the better of arch rival Sebastian Vettel to claim a fifth world crown. For long periods of 2018 it was Ferrari, looking for their first championship since 2008, who were in the ascendency, but Hamilton won eight of the campaign's last 11 races to claim yet another title triumph.

Mercedes, meanwhile, will be looking to retain their World Team Of The Year award after securing a fifth successive nomination in the category. They’ve been shortlisted again after another stellar season saw them claim a sensational fifth straight double of drivers' and constructors' world championships.

The Silver Arrows take on France's FIFA World Cup-winning squad, the European Ryder Cup team in golf, basketball's Golden State Warriors, the Norwegian Winter Olympics team, and Real Madrid, who won football's UEFA Champions League for a third successive year in 2018.

Hamilton and Mercedes are the latest F1 representatives at the Laureus Awards, with the sport enjoying success in years gone by. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have both won the prestigious Sportsman Of The Year prize, while Brawn GP and Renault are past winners in the Team Of The Year category. Elsewhere, Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Jenson Button, Hamilton and Juan Pablo Montoya have each scooped the Breakthrough award.

This year’s winners will be announced on Monday 18 February in Monaco.