Arise, Sir Lewis

Hamilton now wants the ‘greatest honour’ following his fourth Formula One world title

Lewis Hamilton claimed it would be the “greatest honour” to receive a knighthood after a fourth Formula One world title propelled him beyond Sir Jackie Stewart as Britain’s most successful racing driver.

Amid the whirlwind of celebrations that followed the Mexican Grand Prix, where he finished a distant ninth but still became a quadruple champion with two races to spare, Hamilton made little secret of craving an extra layer of recognition in his home country.

Stewart was not knighted until 2001, long after he wrapped up his third title at Monza in 1973, but the pattern has shifted in recent years to ennobling Britain’s finest sports stars while they are still competing.

Andy Murray was made a knight last December, within six months of his second Wimbledon triumph, and some bookmakers have offered odds of 4-1 for Hamilton to follow suit.

Hamilton, awarded an MBE in the wake of his maiden championship for Mclaren in 2008, said: “I’ve missed the Queen since I had lunch with her at Buckingham Palace – I’m always ready to go back. I’m trying to represent England in the best way I can. If at some stage that is recognised, then I would be incredibly honoured.”

While Murray has questioned the wisdom of elevating active sports figures to so exalted a rank, imploring the All England Club not to introduce him by his title, Hamilton expressed few such qualms. “I would enforce it!” he said, tongue firmly in cheek. “To friends, everyone. I’ve got friends who are Sirs, and I call them Sir. When I get a text, I’m like, ‘Yes, Sir’. It’s unique. Why not use it in all its beauty?”

True to his extravagant, nomadic lifestyle, Hamilton was back on an aeroplane within hours of the grand prix, taking his mother, Carmen, and several friends to an after-party in Miami. Few could begrudge him the indulgence, given his abstemiousness in post-race interviews. He took one sip of champagne before pulling a face in revulsion and reverting to an energy drink.

Already, in light of Mercedes’ sustained dominance, winning both drivers’ and constructors’ titles for four years straight, Hamilton is a heavy favourite to repeat his feat next season. “I want No5 now,” he said.

Referring less than flatteringly to former team-mate Nico Rosberg, who caused ructions throughout F1 by retiring just days after his first world title last year, he explained: “I could do the easy thing like Nico, which is just to stop and retreat, but I think that there’s more in me, that there’s more to come.”

Only Michael Schumacher’s records, once considered impregnable, stand before him. Hamilton is second on the all-time list of grand prix victories, with 62 to the German’s astonishing 91, and needs to shelve any thought of retirement for a while yet if he is to emulate – let alone break – Schumacher’s benchmark of seven titles.

There is little doubt he is capable, considering the outstanding precision of his driving in 2017, which has taken him past both Schumacher and Ayrton Senna, his childhood idol, en route to an unprecedented 72 pole positions.

But this is a sport where the hierarchy is constantly being recast, and the likelihood is that Hamilton will find himself under fierce challenge next year from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, still only 20 and winner of two of the past four races.

Here in Mexico City, the threeway fight into the first corner between Hamilton, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel offered a compelling juxtaposition of present and future. “For sure, Red Bull have a potential world champion in Max,” Hamilton said. “There is a lot of raw talent and he is only going to get stronger with age. Going down the main straight to turn-one three abreast, with two of the greatest drivers I’ve come across, was so much fun. I could have been nervous, but I was just excited about what could be.”

At 32, Hamilton is almost certain to see out his F1 career at Mercedes. For all the misgivings raised in 2012 about his decision to forsake the might of Mclaren, where he had learnt at the feet of Ron Dennis since his karting days, he has evolved at the Silver Arrows into a true great.

“People thought it was a big risk, a gamble, but I had every belief in my heart that it was the right thing to do,” he said. “This year, finally, I have been in a position to lead a team – driving, motivating, directing the development of the car exactly as I want it.”

As for signing an extension to his contract, which runs until the end of 2018, Hamilton assured that it was not a matter of if, but when.

“At some stage we’ll sit down and talk,” he said. “It’s quite an easy process for us. We’ve already got something great in place, it’s just about enhancing it.”

Hamilton juggles so many other passions in his life, from recording music to appearing at New York catwalks, there has long been a suspicion that he could, with no warning, leave his first love of F1 behind. In the glory of the hour, though, he assuaged such concerns with a smile. “F1 doesn’t sleep, doesn’t stand still,” he said. “There is always someone waiting to take my position, so I have to raise the game another level to stay ahead. There’s my motivation for next year.”