Max Verstappen voted Dutch Athlete of the Year for the third time
The two-time Dutch F1 world champion was crowned on home soil for the third time, his second consecutive title.
Max Verstappen has been named Athlete of the Year in the Netherlands for the third time, alongside the skater Irene Schouten. This is a way to congratulate the 25-year-old driver for winning the Formula 1 World Championship for the second time this year, winning no less than 15 out of the 22 races, a record. He received the majority of votes from his fellow athletes and the jury during the selection process which took place on Wednesday.
Red Bull Racing’s driver thus surpassed track cyclist Harrie Lavreysen and speed skater Thomas Krol to secure his third Athlete of the Year title after 2016 and 2021. However, the F1 champion was not present at the Dutch sports gala on Wednesday.
Irene Schouten, who has participated in the Olympics three times, has been awarded Female Athlete of the Year. She had outstanding performances at the Winter Olympics in Beijing last February, winning three gold medals and one bronze medal. She succeeds athlete Sifan Hassan, who was not nominated this year. The other two nominees were double Olympic champion in short track Suzanne Schulting and cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten.
