Another award for Verstappen; driver who claims to 'be better' snubbed

07:31, 17 Jul

Updated: 08:20, 17 Jul

byKada Sarkozi

The ESPYs took place overnight. Fourt-time world champion Max Verstappen was once again among the nominees, and the Dutchman won his third in a row.

The ESPYs (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards) is an annual award show hosted by American network ESPN, that currently also has the rights to broadcast F1 in the USA.

For the third time running, it was Max Verstappen who won the award in the 'Best Driver' category. Among others, famous athletes like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (NBA), Saquon Barkley (NFL) or Simone Biles (Gymnastics) took home awards.

Who were the other contenders for the ESPY?

One of Verstappen's rivals for the award was the current championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Together with the Australian, two contenders came from US-based series. Alex Palou won his third IndyCar title in 2024, and managed to win the Indy 500 this year as well.

Joey Logano was crowned NASCAR champion in the competition's playoff format in Phoenix. This was the American's third NASCAR title. In 2025, he won once at the Texas Motor Speedway.

The driver who claimed to be better all-around driver than Verstappen, Kyle Larson, was not nominated. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver is the last one to win an ESPY in this category other than Verstappen. He did so back in 2022.