Laureus World Sports Awards, Best Sporting Moment August nominees: When tears turn into smiles

Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen would probably rather forget his performance in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on 14 May, but for one young fan it was the race of a lifetime.

Raikkonen was forced to retire after a crash on the very first turn left his Ferrari’s steering column broken. As the disappointed Finn climbed from his car, TV pictures showed a devastated young boy in tears in the grandstand.

Thomas Danel, a six-year-old Ferrari fan from Amiens in France — he even has a cat called ‘Schumie’ — was gutted that his hero had been forced out.

Quickly he and his family were invited down to the Formula One paddock, where Thomas’ tears soon turned to smiles when he got to meet Raikkonen — nicknamed “The Ice Man’’ — who gave him his Ferrari cap. “This has been the most fantastic day for us,” Thomas’ mother Coralie said.

“We could not believe it when they came to get us and took us to Ferrari. This is great for fans like us, it really makes F1 and all of its people come alive. Brilliant!”

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The Laureus World Sports Awards, in its 17-year history, have honoured those at the pinnacle of sporting excellence.

Since its inception in the year 2000, some of the big names who have won the Laureus World Sports Awards include Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Roger Federer.

Some of the other awards that Laureus announces other than the Best sporting moment include Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year and Laureus World Team of the Year among others.