Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen was beaten by Erling Haaland to the BBC World Sports Star of the Year award.
Verstappen won 19 of 22 Grands Prix and four of the six Sprints in 2023 as he eased to a third World Championship setting numerous records along the way.
These included most championship points (575), highest win percentage (86.4%), and became the first driver to lead over 1,000 laps in a season as he finished 290 points ahead of Sergio Perez, another record.
The Dutchman was nominated for World Sports Star of the year at the BBC Sports Personality awards for the second time, after missing out to Lionel Messi in 2022 after he won the World Cup with Argentina.
However, Manchester City striker Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions in his debut season in English football as the team won the treble.
Haaland broke the record for most goals in a Premier League season with 36 in just 35 games as they also won the FA Cup and Champions League.
The other nominees were Women's Baloon D'Or winner Aitana BonmatI, gymnast Simone Biles, Tennis great Novak Djokovic and South African Rugby World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi.
The Red Bull driver could have become the third F1 champion to secure the award, with Niki Lauda in 1977 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013 the other two successfully securing it.
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