Lewis Hamilton: to knight or not to knight?
Lewis Hamilton has made history in the world of motorsport, winning his seventh world championship title, equalling the great Michael Schumacher’s record.
The 35 year-old from Stevenage is now statistically the most successful driver in Formula One (F1) history, having surpassed two other Schumacher records this year: the number of podiums (163 to 155) and victories (94 to 91). There are now calls for Lewis Hamilton to be given a knighthood in recognition of his outstanding achievements.
Sir Jackie Stewart, the tartan-trousered father of Formula One, is leading these calls. The three-time world champion, who was himself knighted in 2001, called Hamilton a “seriously top-line sportsman”. Sir Jackie, and other highly respected members of the F1 community, are placing pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to recommend the record-breaker driver to be included in the New Year’s Honours List. Hamilton now belongs to a sphere much wider than the Formula One paddock.
The world champion has been named the most influential Black person in the UK on the Powerlist 2021. Other individuals on the list include philanthropic grime artist, Stormzy; actor, screenwriter and director, Michaela Coel; and editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful OBE. The publisher of the list, Michael Eboda, the chief executive of Powerful Media, comments that those included “have used their position to powerful effect”, particularly honouring individuals who have spoken out at a time of increased debate about racial injustice.
The 2020 Formula One championship, which has taken place with mass and regular testing, the use of “bubbles” and mandatory mask-wearing, has also been dominated by Lewis Hamilton’s explicit shows of defiance against racism. The 2020 F1 season also began just weeks after the murder of George Floyd. Just as Ferraris are known to be red, Hamilton’s team, Mercedes-Benz AMG, are known for their silver cars. But not this year. The “Silver Arrows”, as the two Mercedes cars are nicknamed, were repainted black to acknowledge the anti-racism campaigns and protests taking place around the world. The uniforms of the drivers, mechanics and engineers were re-designed to match, and their message could not be clearer. Every weekend, before the lights go out and the race begins, the 20 drivers on the grid take a minute to deliver a message urging equality. Hamilton’s influence is palpable.
In addition to his work on the grid, Lewis Hamilton announced in June the launch of The Hamilton Commission, which “will aim to improve the representation of black people in UK motorsport.” Announcing this project, which has been set up in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering, Hamilton said that The Hamilton Commission will “engage more young people from black backgrounds with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.” The driver added that he wants motorsport “to become as diverse as the complex and multicultural world we live in.”
"Despite my success in the sport, the institutional barriers that have kept F1 highly exclusive persist", wrote Hamilton in a column for The Times. "It is not enough to point to me, or to a single new black hire, as a meaningful example of progress."
However, critics claim that there are reasons why he cannot, and should not, be awarded a knighthood. The biggest argument against his name: tax. The world champion, along with many other Formula One drivers, lives in Monaco, the tax haven to rival even the Cayman Islands. However, Sir Jackie Stewart moved to Switzerland over 50 years ago, and he hardly moved there for the snow sports. Despite accusations, Lewis Hamilton does pay tax in the UK. Labour peer Lord Peter Hain has pointed out that the F1 driver is among the country’s 5,000 biggest taxpayers, despite his residency in Monaco.
Then comes the issue of age. Some might say that the 35-year-old is too young to be awarded a knighthood. However, the nation’s monosyllabic hero, Andy Murray, was knighted at the age of 29, after ending Great Britain's 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men's singles champion.
A knighthood would not be Hamilton’s first accolade awarded to him by the royal family. In 2008, after winning his first Formula One world championship, Hamilton was given an MBE, Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This weekend, the royal family honoured the champion in the form of a Tweet.
Formula One was a sport associated with tweed, the wealthy and the privileged. Motor racing was regarded as a white man’s sport, but Hamilton has proved otherwise. He often reminisces about growing up in a council house and being the only Black family at the karting races as a child, likening his story to the film “Cool Runnings”. Nobody can deny that Lewis Hamilton has brought motorsport into the 21st century. With or without a knighthood, Hamilton’s legacy in Formula One will be felt for generations to come.
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