Jenson Button on shortlist for Laureus World Sports Awards

Date published : 12 Feb 2010 - 15:56:50

Interestingly, Button faces competition for the award from a compatriot 16 years his junior, in British diving sensation Tom Daley, as well as from Tour de France cyclist Mark Cavendish, while heptathlete Jessica Ennis also received a nod in the 'comeback of the year' category. British sport amassed a total of six Laureus shortlistings for the second straight year, with Button's Brawn team finding themselves among the 'comeback' nominees alongside Ennis. After the withdrawal of Honda from F1 at the end of 2008, Button was left without a drive until the intervention of former Honda technical director Ross Brawn, who led a management buy-out of the team. Jenson Button and Brawn GP silence doubters at Australian Grand PrixButton suddenly found himself in the highly competitive Mercedes-powered car for the 2009 season and won six of the first seven races, equalling a record set by Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark. He sealed the world championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo with a race to spare. Finland's Mika Hakkinen, the F1 world champion in 1998 and 1999 - also with the benefit of Mercedes engine - and now a Laureus ambassador, said of Button's nomination: "He fully deserves it. To do what he did when he did not even have a car to go at the start of the year was a fantastic achievement." The Laureus awards are recognised as the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners will be announced in a televised awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on March 10.