Martin Samuel

Martin Samuel’s work emphasise his standing as a peerless live sports reporter, and as a hard-hitting columnist who is always “must read”.

He tackled the very tricky subject matter of the tragic death of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes – who had been killed by his father - and football’s misguided (in his opinion) decision to honour his memory with a minute’s applause. Samuel uses such skill and nuance to make his compelling argument. Six days later, he was at the season-ending Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

As well as being a brilliant columnist, Samuel is masterful at live events – from the highest-profile football matches to Ashes series and Rugby World Cups.

Here he watched first hand as Max Verstappen won the world title in thrilling fashion. Samuel’s verdict that Lewis Hamilton had actually had the title stolen from him is a brilliant dispatch.