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A group of MPs have asked the prime minister to recommend Lewis Hamilton for the knighthood.
MPs want Hamilton to receive “national recognition” after he equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of winning seven world titles on Sunday.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP, Chairman of the All-Game Parliamentary Group on Formula 1, told BBC Sport that it is “the right time to do this.”
The group plans to write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week.
Donaldson said: “The All Game Parliamentary Group on Formula 1 supports the call for Lewis Hamilton to receive national recognition for his tremendous sporting achievements for British motorsport.
“With his record season this year, we think now is the right time to do this.”
The BBC has seen a letter, sent to the Prime Minister last week by the co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Motor Racing, in which it read: “We are writing to encourage you to recommend to Her Majesty the Queen that Lewis Hamilton receive the title. of gentleman “. .
The letter continues: “It is clear that Lewis has demonstrated outstanding achievement in his field … He has used this and his own experience to support others and is a credit to the UK.”
Meanwhile, David Richards, President of Motorsport UK, wrote to the Prime Minister on November 11, saying: “For many years Britain has led the world in F1 engineering and we have produced many great drivers.
“But now we can celebrate the greatest of all and there cannot be a more appropriate way to do that than to award the knighthood to Lewis Hamilton.”
Hamilton, who lives in Monaco, has faced scrutiny in the past for his tax deals, but has previously defended himself from criticism saying he pays “a lot” of taxes in the UK.
On Hamilton’s tax status, Richards wrote that Hamilton “is subject to withholding tax at source. [being taxed at source] in nine countries around the world and files tax returns in four of the nine countries, “adding that 2019 figures from HM Revenue and Customs place it” among the 5,000 largest taxpayers in the UK. “
Richards added: “It would therefore be totally wrong for the UK to deny Lewis an award commensurate with his historic achievements because of where he chooses to live or work or because his tax status has been misunderstood.”
In a 2014 interview with the Sunday Times, Hamilton spoke about his arrangements, saying, “What people don’t realize is that I pay taxes here, but I don’t make all my money here.
“I run in 19 different countries, so I earn my money in 20 different places and I pay taxes in a number of different places, and I pay a lot here too.
“I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help maintain a team of more than 1,000 employees.”
