03/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Formula One missed out at the Laureus Awards last night, with Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and the Renault F1 Team all failing to impress the 44-member panel of judges.
Alonso and Schumacher were both up for the coveted Sportsman of the Year title, while 2006 GP2 Champion Hamilton had been nominated in the Breakthrough of the Year category.
Back-to-back champions Renault were up for the Team of the Year award.
The ceremony, staged at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, and held in the presence of The King of Spain, was attended by global figures from sport, entertainment, business and fashion. The sort of glitterazi that Bernie Ecclestone would dearly love to see walking his F1 grid.
Among the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy present were: Giacomo Agostini, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Marcel Desailly, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Alberto Tomba. Among the guests were Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and Eva Longoria and Kyle MacLachlan from US TV show Desperate Housewives.
In the end, Alonso and Schumacher missed out to Roger Federer, who won the Sportsman of the Year title for the third time. Hamilton lost out to French tennis champion Amelie Mauresmo and Italy's World Cup squad took the team prize.