Sir Lewis Hamilton? MPs call for F1 world champion to be knighted

Does Sir Lewis Hamilton have a nice ring to it? It turns out that a group of MPs think so! They have reportedly sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, asking him to recommend the newly-crowned seven-time Formula 1 world champion for a knighthood.

The MPs are calling for "national recognition" to be given to Hamilton following his massive success this season and throughout his career. Last Sunday, after winning the Turkish Grand Prix, he equalled German driver Michael Schumacher's record of seven F1 world championship titles. With 94 wins under his belt so far, Hamilton has also broken and surpassed Schumacher's long-standing record of 91 Grand Prix victories. The MPs called Hamilton's success "an outstanding achievement."

According to BBC, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Formula 1, said that it is "the right time to do this."

Donaldson further explained: "The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Formula 1 supports the call for Lewis Hamilton to receive national recognition of his tremendous sporting achievements for British motorsports. With his record-breaking season this year, we believe now is the right time to do this."

The letter reads: "we write to encourage you to recommend to Her Majesty The Queen that Lewis Hamilton receive a knighthood".

The MPs have called Hamilton "a credit to the United Kingdom," mentioning the driver's ability to use his success and experience to support and help others.

David Richards, chairman of Motorsport UK, agrees with the call to recognise Hamilton with a knighthood. He sent his own letter to the prime minister last week stating that "For many years, Britain has led the world in F1 engineering and we've produced many great drivers. But we can now celebrate the greatest of them all and there can be no more fitting way to do this than award Lewis Hamilton a knighthood."

However, not everyone in the UK is warming up to the idea, due largely to the fact that Hamilton actually resides in Monaco and not in the UK. Just like many professional athletes and high net worth individuals, living in Monaco and other tax havens like Switzerland is a common practice.

Hamilton has previously defended himself against naysayers on the tax issue. "What people don't realise is that I pay tax here, but I don't earn all my money here. I race in 19 different countries, so I earn my money in 20 different places and I pay tax in several different places, and I pay a lot here as well," he said.