Bernie Ecclestone (former F1 chief) suggested Lewis Hamilton didn’t “deserve” his knighthood earlier this week.
On Wednesday, the Prince of Wales presented Hamilton with an award at Windsor Castle. This was in appreciation of his stellar career in motorsport only days after Hamilton lost controversially to a record eight title.
He was 36 years old and became the fourth F1 driver knighted after Sir Jack Brabham (Sir Stirling Moss) and Sir Jackie Stewart.
Bernie Ecclestone, former F1 chief has said that Lewis Hamilton does not ‘deserve’ to be knighted
Ecclestone said Hamilton had not done enough to make the UK worthy of one
After a year of record breaking wins, Hamilton received the New Year Honours List. He also emulated Michael Schumacher by winning the seventh World title.
Hamilton fell short of Max Verstappen’s world title on Sunday after their long season came to an end in Abu Dhabi.
Mercedes appealed against the result of the race but were able to withdraw their objections after a constructive dialogue with the governing body FIA. This was in the interest of establishing clarity and future possibilities.
But Ecclestone, who built F1 into the billion-dollar sport it is today, believes Hamilton has not done enough for the United Kingdom to be deemed worthy of a knighthood.
The 91-year old told German broadcaster n.tv that knighting should only be given to people who are truly doing something for the country, as reported by The Express.
I don’t believe many knights are worthy of it.
Ecclestone claims Toto Wolff is deserving of an Oscar because of his rage in Abu Dhabi, Sunday.
They all have a lot to give and make money but do not actually help the country.
Ecclestone continues to be an advisor to Formula One and also criticised Toto Wolff’s reaction to Hamilton’s unsettling loss to Verstappen.
He added: ‘Other team members were probably angry too. He was not the only one who did it.
Mercedes should be nominated for an Oscar in acting if he doesn’t win the championship retroactively.
Sunday’s season-ending race at Yas Marina saw Red Bull’s Verstappen claim victory and the title after the deployment of a late safety car led to the Dutchman being placed right behind Hamilton, who he then overtook on the final lap.
Hamilton looked like he was charging to glory. Verstappen was held at bay by Hamilton in the last laps. Only for Nicholas Latifi and Hamilton to crash, the event would change.
Hamilton missed out on Max Verstappen’s world title in thrilling season finale
Confusion reigned as under-fire race director Michael Masi changed his mind to allow lapped cars to pass the safety car – meaning Verstappen had a clear run at Hamilton in the final lap and, on much faster tyres, made his move to claim a first F1 title.
Mercedes received an immediate two-step appeal from the stewards. Then, they filed an intention to appeal against this decision. This was required by Thursday evening.
In a statement announcing they had withdrawn their appeal though, Mercedes said on Thursday: ‘The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 – for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do.
“We will hold FIA accountable in this matter and we hereby retract our appeal.”