Hamilton up against Bolt and Ronaldo in race for Laureus Award nominations

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Lewis Hamilton could take on the likes of Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lebron James and Floyd Mayweather in the fight for this year's prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.

The 2015 FIA Formula One world champion is not the only F1 candidate up for potential nomination this year: Max Verstappen is in contention for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award, while Mercedes are among the favourites for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award.

Hamilton, Verstappen and Mercedes will have to gain enough votes from the Laureus Nominations Panel - assembled from leading sportswriters, editors and broadcasters from more than 100 countries - to make a six-man shortlist for each award.

Hamilton is up against two of the greatest footballers of all time in Ronaldo and Messi, the world's best sprinter in Bolt, and an unbeaten boxing legend in Mayweather. World tennis No 1 Novak Djokovic, basketball giants LeBron James and Paul Gasol, athletes Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford, cyclists Chris Froome and Alberto Contador and world golf No 1 Jordan Spieth are also up for nomination.

Verstappen faces competition from the Chile Men’s Football Team, who won their first ever Copa America, plus golf’s Jason Day and Brooke Henderson,British swimmer Adam Peaty, Australian jockey Michelle Payne, and Bahrain’s Alzain Tareq, who became the youngest ever swimmer in the world championships at the age of 10.

Mercedes, meanwhile, will take on the 2015 Rugby World Cup winners the All Blacks, current Champions League champions FC Barcelona, the US Women's World Cup Team - winners of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup - as well as 2015 Superbowl champions New England Patriots, 2015 World Series champions Kansas City Royals, 2015 NBA champions Golden State Warriors, and the Spanish Men's basketball team, winners of this year's European Championships.

Hamilton is a past winner of the Laureus Awards, while last year Daniel Ricciardo's spectacular first season with Red Bull earned him the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award.

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