The BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2023 was awarded to Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps. The Lioness footballer beat cricketer Stuart Broad, golfer Roary McIlroy, jockey Frankie Dettori, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett and athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson to win the title.
The achievement is awarded to an athlete who is either British or lives and plays a significant amount of their sport in the UK. The athletes are picked based on their achievements from the last year, with a public vote deciding the overall winner.
Although no Formula 1 drivers are nominated this year, five drivers have successfully taken home the award since the prestigious award began in 1954. F1 has had a variety of awards over the years including Young Sports Personality of the Year awarded to Jenson Button in 2000, World Sport Star of the Year going to Niki Lauda in 1977 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013 and even Team of the Year awards for Cooper in 1960 and BRM in 1962.
Here’s everything you need to know about the five drivers who have managed to scoop the BBC Sports Personality of the Year:
Lewis Hamilton (2014 & 2020)
Lewis Hamilton is the most recent F1 driver to win the BBC Sports Personality of the year and has secured the award twice. Hamilton took BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2014, beating out golfer Rory McIlroy and athlete Jo Pavey before beating footballer Jordan Henderson and boxer Tyson Fury in 2020.
His first award came after he proved victorious over his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the year’s drivers’ championship.
The win was his second championship title and Hamilton’s first for Mercedes after taking his first championship victory with McLaren in 2008, and also helped secure the team their first constructors’ championship. Hamilton’s 2014 title ended Red Bull’s 4 years of championship dominance, with Sebastian Vettel claiming the title in 2010.
The second BBC Sports Personality of the Year award for the Brit came at the end of 2020 after he had equalled Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world championship titles, as well as breaking the German driver’s record of 91 career wins. This was the last championship win for Lewis Hamilton, who then came second in the drivers’ championship in 2021.
Hamilton has finished second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year on four other occasions including 2007, 2008, 2017 and 2018 and holds the record for most top-three placings for the award.
Damon Hill (1994 & 1996)
Damon Hill has also achieved the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award twice. Damon Hill was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1994 ahead of athletes Sally Gunnell and Colin Jackson. In 1996, he also beat rowing athlete Steve Redgrave and jockey Frankie Dettori.
His first award came after one of the most tragic seasons in F1 history. Hill, who was driving for Williams-Renault, was the team-mate of Ayrton Senna who died during the San Marino Grand Prix, just one day after the death of rookie Roland Ratzenberger. The 1994 championship saw a number of other incidents across the season which resulted in injuries to drivers and mechanics, as well as spectators and even a track marshal.
Hill was unable to beat Michael Schumacher for the driver’s championship title, remaining just one point behind the German driver. Although he took second place, he did help Williams bring home first in the constructors’ championship in a season where he had three team-mates over the course of the year, including test driver David Coulthard and Nigel Mansell.
Hill also took home the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year in 1996, the year he won his first and only drivers’ championship. He became the first son of a world champion to win the title himself - Hill’s father Graham had previously won the title in both 1962 and 1968.
Although he’d had a pretty tough year in 1995, finishing runner-up again, Hill was only threatened by his team-mate for the title the following year. Jacques Villeneuve had joined Williams after becoming the 1995 IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion but was unable to beat Hill in 1996.
Williams also won the constructors’ championship by 105 points as no other team was strong enough to compete. However, Hill was then dropped from Williams for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. He then moved to Arrows but retired from racing just three years later in 1999.
Hill’s drivers’ championship win was the last by a British driver until 2008 when the title was claimed by Lewis Hamilton.
Nigel Mansell (1986 & 1992)
Nigel Mansell was the first F1 driver to be awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year twice. In 1986 Mansell was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year above athlete Fatima Whitbread and footballer Kenny Dalglish, and then claimed the award over athletes Linford Christie and Sally Gunnel in 1992.
His first win, in 1986, came after an intense championship battle between himself and team-mate Nelson Piquet, as well as McLaren driver Alain Prost during the final race at the Australian Grand Prix. During the race Mansell’s tyre exploded and his team-mate, Piquet, was brought in for a precautionary pitstop for new tyres, which left Prost to win the race and his second drivers’ championship.
Mansell finished second in the 1986 world championship just two points behind Alain Prost, after winning five of the year’s grands prix.
Mansell also took home the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1992 after claiming his first and only drivers’ championship and helped win the constructors’ championship for Williams. After winning the first five races of the season, he went on to become the first F1 driver to win nine world championship races in a single season and took the drivers’ championship at the Hungarian Grand Prix with five races left to go. His drivers’ championship win made Mansell the first British driver to win the championship since James Hunt in 1976.
Jackie Stewart (1973)
Jackie Stewart claimed the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1973 following his retirement from F1. Stewart won the year’s drivers’ championship driving for Elf Team Tyrrell beating Emerson Fittipaldi by 16 points.
He had been extremely vocal about improved safety conditions in F1 following the death of François Cevert at the United States Grand Prix. Stewart and his team withdrew from the race which handed the constructors' title to Lotus.
Stewart then decided to pursue a career in media, where he spent years as a commentator on many motor racing series.
Jackie Stewart beat tennis player Roger Taylor and showjumper Paddy McMahon to take home the 1973 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Stirling Moss (1961)
Stirling Moss was the first F1 driver to be awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1961. Driving an outdated and underpowered Lotus 18, Moss was able to secure one of the most famous grand prix wins when he was able to beat the Ferrari drivers in Monaco, before also taking a win at the German Grand Prix.
Moss finished third in the year’s drivers’ championship, which was his last year in F1. In 1962, whilst competing in the Glover Trophy at Goodwood, he crashed his Lotus, which put him in a coma for a month and left the left side of his body paralysed for six months. Despite his recovery, he ultimately decided to retire from racing following a test session in the Lotus 19 in 1963, where he felt he hadn’t regained instinctive command of the car following his accident.
Stirling Moss was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1961 beating boxer Billy Walker in second and tennis player Angela Mortimer.
Previous BBC Sports Personality of the Year F1 nominees
Here are all the F1 drivers who have previously been nominated for a BBC Sports Personality of the Year award:
| Driver | Year | Place |
| Stirling Moss | 1957 | 2nd |
| John Surtees (nominated for motorcycling) | 1959 | 1st |
| Jim Clark | 1963 | 3rd |
| Jim Clark | 1965 | 2nd |
| Graham Hill | 1968 | 2nd |
| James Hunt | 1976 | 2nd |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2007 | 2nd |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2008 | 2nd |
| Jenson Button | 2009 | 2nd |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2018 | 2nd |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2019 | 2nd |
John Surtees, the 1964 Formula 1 world champion, was nominated for a BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1959 after winning the 500cc motorcycle grand prix world championship. The motorcycle road racer won six world championship titles across 350 and 500cc and classes before making his move to Formula 1 in 1960. Four years later, he took the drivers’ championship in his Ferrari and is the only person to have won a world championship on both two and four wheels.
Other BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards wins
Although athletes are looking to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, other accolades have been awarded to drivers for their achievements. The BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year is presented to non-British athletes who have had a significant achievement in their sport that year.
In 1977, Niki Lauda was given the award following his second drivers’ championship win. He was awarded the accolade just a year after his horrific accident at the German Grand Prix where his Ferrari swerved off the track and burst into flames. Lauda was trapped inside his car and suffered extensive burns to his head. He only missed two races, despite his injuries, and finished fourth in the Italian Grand Prix six weeks later.
Sebastian Vettel was awarded the BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year in 2013 after successfully defending his world champion title for the fourth consecutive year.
Max Verstappen was nominated for the award in 2023, alongside footballer Erling Haaland and tennis player Novak Djokovic. The award was given to the Manchester City striker after he scored 52 goals in the 2022-23 season.
In 1990, Good Sport Awards were presented to four motorsport drivers for showing courage and good sportsmanship. The accolade was given to Derek Warwick, Martin Donnelly, Louise Aitken-Walker and Tina Thörner, who were all involved in racing accidents that year.
At the start of the 1990 Italian Grand Prix, Derek Warwick had a dramatic crash in his Lotus 102 at the Parabolica. After hitting the guard rail at an estimated 140mph the car was turned on its side as it flew down the track before coming to a stop. Warwick was unhurt and managed to climb out from underneath his car before running back to the pits and climbing into the spare car before the restart of the race.
Martin Donnelly faced a nasty crash during the practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. After crashing into the barrier, his Lotus 102 broke into pieces with the chassis being torn in two and Donnelly being thrown across the track with his seat still strapped to him. Donnelly revealed he had laid on the track unconscious and not breathing for 11 minutes. The crash was career-ending and his injuries, including bruising on his lungs and brain and severe breaks to both his legs, took months to heal.
Louise Aitken-Walker and her co-driver Tina Thörner were involved in a crash during the Portuguese Rally at the World Rally Championship. The Vauxhall Astra GTE crashed off a cliff before falling down a ravine and into a lake. Luckily both drivers were able to escape from their car and swim to safety.
