Having equalled Michael Schumacher’s number of championships and beaten his number of wins, it is beyond dispute that Lewis Hamilton is the most successful racing driver the world has seen. Whether he is the greatest is a specious argument because it is impossible to compare the generations.
How can you say Hamilton is better or worse than Juan Fangio, who won just five titles and 24 races but nearly half of all those he started compared with around a third for Lewis, and raced cars with no power or grip but on lethal tracks with zero consideration of safety? You can’t.
Whether Lewis now deserves a knighthood is another matter. Is he not a better racing driver than is Sir Andy Murray a tennis player? Does he not rank alongside Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Steve Redgrave among our greatest living sports people? To me, there is no question. Then again, no British driver has been knighted until long after their career was over. Jackie Stewart was 61, Stirling Moss no less than 70.
On wins alone, I’d hold back the honour until after his career was over and the final tally known. But surely there is more to it than that. As much as I admire him as a driver, I admire more how Lewis has left behind an at times brattish past and now uses his place on the world stage to call out racism, inspire the young and campaign for equality of opportunity.
Jackie wasn’t knighted just because he won three titles. He was knighted for doing more than any other to bring safety to his sport. He used his celebrity for the greater good, just as Lewis does today. He should never have had to wait until his 60s for those efforts to be recognised. And nor should Lewis. Or Sir Lewis, as I hope he will shortly be known.
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Sorry but
why? A tax exile who bleats on about equality, but has led a pampered life because of the money rich white people have paid him not despite it.. Who works for a company that profited from slave labour during WW2, then rants about the environment but flys around the world to drive a car for a living, he probably has the carbon footprint of a small country, hypocrical f***wits dont deserve a knighthood.
Sporting greats.
So, who is your unsung sporting hero who never got asked?, or refused a knighthood?, who wasn't a Tax exile.
A champion.
There's no question it an amazing feat, maybe never repeated again, but, I'm not saying he shouldn't get one, I'm just saying, that, he himself might say no thanks, and, no matter your background, where you come from, believe comes from within, nobody going to hand it to you, there are other just as talented out there doing the same thing, he and his Father worked damned hard to get him where he is today, no, my main point was, what if doesn't want one?
Just a thought.
Much as we may think it's overdue, what if Lewis Hamilton actually doesn't want one?, we all assume he does, it's as if we know him, top bloke and all that, but, like I said, what if doesn't want a Knighthood?
@ Peter Cavellini
....thats fine Peter, but at least give him the opportunity to make a decision.
The seven championships are amazing,The odds of someone from Lewis's background even making it into F1 are almost incalcuable, let alone achieve this level of success. This is a momentous success story.
But more important is the fact that he is a role model for the young and a great ambassador for the UK. Just because he doesnt live in the UK doesnt mean he is disloyal in some way to his country. Many British people choose to live abroad, it doesnt disbar them in any way or belittle their efforts.
Fact is, as he said on the victory lap....dare to believe you can achieve - there cant be a better example for our youth than this.....particularly for minority groups traditionally overlooked in this sport.