Outside Line: An open letter to the Queen

I write to you today on behalf of your subject Lewis Hamilton, who I believe continues to be done a great injustice by your nation’s failure to properly recognise his accomplishments and honour him with a knighthood.

Being an Australian myself, you might think I have no dog in this fight, but as a keen follower of sport in general and F1 in particular, the fact that Mr. Hamilton only has an "MBE" next to his name is something I can abide no longer.

As I’m sure you’re aware, that is the same honour that was bestowed to cricketer Paul Collingwood after he scored a total of 17 runs in the 2005 Ashes series. In contrast, Mr. Hamilton is a winner of 83 grands prix, 87 pole positions and six Formula 1 world championships. I don’t believe I am mistaken in saying they are not equitable accomplishments.

Indeed, Mr. Hamilton could have been knighted several years ago and he would have been no less deserving. To see him continually glossed-over while contemporaries Mo Farah and Andy Murray were honoured as recently as 2017 makes it even more bewildering.

And yes, it is a common criticism levelled at F1 drivers that unlike Mr. Farah or Mr. Murray, their results are not directly dependent on the efforts of the team that surrounds them, but as anyone of the hundreds who work at the Mercedes factories in Brackley and Brixworth will tell you, he does things in the car that only he alone is capable of.

Further to that point, as undeniably great a team as Mercedes have been for the past six years, the car does not explain why he is the only driver in F1 history to win a race in each season in which he has competed, nor does it explain why he has out-performed all his teammates over the course of his career by a combined score of 3405-2917. Those feats are down to him, and him alone.

Not only has he achieved an unparalleled amount of success for a British sportsman, but on each of those 83 occasions where he has stood on the top step of the podium, it has been your flag flying, and your anthem playing.

Likewise, when he has won each of his six world championships, he has proudly borne a Union Jack as part of the celebrations. You would be hard-pressed to find another person who represents their country on the world stage as frequently and proudly as he does.

That said, I understand Mr. Hamilton can be something of a divisive figure in this day and age of non-stop media scrutiny. Like all people he is not without his flaws, and his high profile makes him easy fodder for the tabloids. However, if you look beyond the headlines, you will see a man as much an asset to your nation off-track as he is on it.

On the basis of his life story alone – having come from a council estate in Stevenage to be the only black driver to ever race in Formula 1, he has had to overcome untold amounts of adversity – he would be a worthy recipient, but in addition, he has been a staunch supporter of many charitable efforts, including such organisations as UNICEF, Education Africa and Save the Children, and just recently created a £1 million fund with Comic Relief to support disadvantaged British youth.

Also, to address the widespread misconception that as a person who spends much of his time abroad, Mr. Hamilton does not pay tax, the fact is Mr. Hamilton is one of the United Kingdom’s top 5000 taxpayers – as noted by a member of your privy council, Lord Peter Hain.

Simply put, there is no doubting he is worthy of such an esteemed title – and as recent events have proven, that is certainly not something we can say of everyone. Mr. Hamilton is not just one of the greatest ever British sportsmen, but one of the greatest the

world has ever seen.

He may remain humble about his lack of recognition, but he is long past due. With the New Year honours a little over a month away, the time to correct this error is now – make Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Hamilton, a Knight of the British Empire.

Yours Respectfully,