Rossi, Hamilton, Mercedes all get Laureus nominations

Valentino Rossi, Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team have all been given Laureus nominations for 2017 awards.

Rossi has been given recognition for his outstanding return to action from a broken leg suffered in a training accident by being nominated for the Comeback of the Year award.

Rossi, who returned to racing just 25 days after his accident for the Aragon Grand Prix where he finished in fifth place, goes up against Barcelona FC for their comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League overturning a 4-0 deficit, Chapecoense FC returning to action after being involved in a plane crash which killed 19, Roger Federer in tennis plus Justin Gatlin and Sally Pearson from athletics.

Hamilton has been entered in the Sportsman of the Year category for winning his fourth Formula 1 world title last year after the disappointment of losing out to Nico Rosberg in 2016 – who won the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year in 2016 for his title triumph.

The Mercedes F1 driver goes up against Sir Mo Farah, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Sir Chris Froome and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Also from the motorsport world Mercedes AMG Petronas have been included in the team nominations for a fourth consecutive F1 world title despite a technical regulation shake-up in 2017.

Mercedes has been nominated against the French Davis Cup team in tennis, NBA’s Golden State Warriors, New Zealand's America’s Cup sailing squad, NFL’s New England Patriots and football’s Real Madrid.

Two iconic motorsport moments have also been included in the Laureus Best Sporting Moment of 2017. Billy Monger’s appearance at the F1 British Grand Prix as guest of Mercedes just weeks after suffering a double leg amputation in a British Formula 4 crash at Donington Park and Ferrari fan Thomas Danel’s tears followed by joy at meeting Kimi Raikkonen at the Ferrari hospitality during the Spanish Grand Prix have both been nominated for the Best Sporting Moment award.

The winners, as voted for by the Laureus World Sports Academy, will be revealed at a ceremony in Monaco on the 27th February while fans can vote online for the Best Sporting Moment award.