F1 Fan-Favorite Lewis Hamilton Knighted at Windsor Castle

Lewis Hamiton was knighted on Wednesday, days after he missed out on winning the Formula One title. The 36-year-old F1 legend was awarded his knighthood from the Prince of Whales at Windsor Castle with his mother Carmen in attendance. Hamilton is the fourth F1 driver in history to be knighted, following  Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Stirling Moss and Sir Jack Brabham.

In December 2020, Hamilton was named on the New Year Honours list and was knighted for his accomplishing excellence in racing. He will now formally be known as Sir Lewis Hamilton and is the first F1 driver to receive the horner while still competing. Over the weekend, Hamilton was looking to win his eighth F1 title after dominating the majority of the season. However, while racing in the final at Abu Dhabi, Willams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi crashed with four laps remaining, leading to a setback for Hamilton, according to CNN. In the end, Hamilton finished second while Max Verstappen won the race and the F1 championship. 

🏎️ Arise Sir @LewisHamilton!

The seven-time @F1 World Champion received his Knighthood from The Prince of Wales at today's Investiture ceremony held at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/I3xicKLLYp

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 15, 2021

“Firstly, big congratulations to Max and to his team,” Hamilton said to start things off,” Hamilton said after the race, per SportBible. “But I’m so proud of my own team and we gave it absolutely everything and we never gave up. I’ve felt great in the car the past couple of months, particularly at the end. We’ll see what happens next year.”

Lewis will now get ready to win his eighth title next season, and if he wins he will have the most F1 titles in history. In his career, Hamiton has won 103 races and has notched 182 podium finishes, which are both F1 records. Before falling short this season, Hamilton won four consecutive F1 championships. 

“My dad and my stepmum came to the last race and whenever I see them, I think, ‘Those two are the real reason I’m here.’ They’re the ones who sacrificed everything,” Hamilton told Good Housekeeping when asked about his career in August. “When we were living in a one-bedroom flat in Stevenage, they put all their savings into karting in the hope of me one day getting to Formula 1. I might be the one who’s on the podium, but it’s all come from them.”