Sir Lewis Hamilton?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by AdrianM

Knighthood for being one of three drivers lucky enough to race the most dominant car in F1 history? Seems fair enough.

Mercedes dominance coincided with Hamilton joining them in 2014.

[ASCII Man]

It actually coincided more with the new engine regulations than anything Hamilton did.

[S griffin]

And everyone thought he was mad to leave McLaren for Mercedes. Doesn't look stupid now does it?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

It actually coincided more with the new engine regulations than anything Hamilton did.

True, the new engine regulations coincided with Hamilton joining and both Mercedes and Hamilton have certainly made the most of them since. However, whether they could have been so dominant without Hamilton, we will never know but they have been since he joined and it is getting a little tedious.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by AdrianM

Knighthood for being one of three drivers lucky enough to race the most dominant car in F1 history? Seems fair enough.

Really? 2008 wasn’t a dominant car, and I wouldn’t class this years car as dominant either. The red bull and Ferrari have been quicker than the merc on several circuits this year, had it not been for their implosion on the asian leg things could be looking a whole lot different.

[GTRMagic]

Sir Lewis Hamilton.. The driver says ‘Yes Please’

[Adam43]

Perfect timing!

He was presumably asked, but I’ve always thought that talking about knighthoods doesn’t help your chances. It could well make no difference.

[bjohnsonsmith]

What is the difference between the New Year's Honours list and the Queen's Birthday Honours? Is one more prestigious than the other?

[Adam43]

I don’t believe there is any difference other than timing. No one remembers which one you got it in.

[crmalcolm]

Typically, people move up the order of precedence within their order, so I would expect Lewis to be awarded the OBE in the next honours list. Knighthood might come one day, but I think it is a few years off yet.

[Hawkwood]

Originally Posted by ASCII Man

That kind of stuff just seems bizarre to me.

Wildly off topic, but most of this thread has been I think.

You have the Belgian flag, so I'm going to assume you're Belgian, or at least live there?
Does the Belgian monarchy/government not have a system of honours and such to hand out?

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Hawkwood

Wildly off topic, but most of this thread has been I think.

You have the Belgian flag, so I'm going to assume you're Belgian, or at least live there?
Does the Belgian monarchy/government not have a system of honours and such to hand out?

I suppose it's bound to go off topic to a certain extent, as those of us who aren't British may not know, or understand how the honour system works.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

What is the difference between the New Year's Honours list and the Queen's Birthday Honours? Is one more prestigious than the other?

No, they are basically the same. The main difference is that New Year's honour lists tend to contain more people from sports, the arts and culture than the Birthday list which has a leaning towards business orientated recipients. Both will include political appointees, as do the Dissolution List which will occur at the end of each Parliament (however years that it may last) and the PM's Resignation list which, obviously, follows when a PM resigns.

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

I’m genuinely interested, in your opinion what have Kelly Holmes, Mo Farah, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis, Tony McCoy, Malcolm campbell, Seagrave, Patrick Head, Matthew Pinsent, Grainger, Andy Murray and Ben Ainsle done out of the sporting field that has contributed to the world so they are worthy of a Knighthood?

Who who and who?

Okay I know Patrick Head obviously. Andy Murray obv plays a bit of tennis. Don't know why he needs Sir plonked on his name but on the other hand his results are pure skill. Hamiltons has been assisted by having the dominant car.

Win in your own car and it might be more impressive.

[Razzzor]

I don't think it matters so much when Hamilton joined Mercedes, because had he stayed at McLaren for another year in 2013 with Button, that year the car was rubbish and Button/Perez didn't finish better than 4th place. He would have been out that year and replaced whoever had a 1 year deal at Mercedes because the car was looking better that year. Much better than McLaren.

It would have been too early for Alonso to leave Ferrari for Merc. And who else would have been in line for the #2 seat at Merc in 2013/14?

[knighty]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

I don't think it matters so much when Hamilton joined Mercedes, because had he stayed at McLaren for another year in 2013 with Button, that year the car was rubbish and Button/Perez didn't finish better than 4th place. He would have been out that year and replaced whoever had a 1 year deal at Mercedes because the car was looking better that year. Much better than McLaren.

It would have been too early for Alonso to leave Ferrari for Merc. And who else would have been in line for the #2 seat at Merc in 2013/14?

I think you have all forgotten that Lewis joined Merc a year early on a V8 NA engine on the premise that he believed Merc had the best resourced to take on the new V6 turbo regs.......and his bet paid off hansom......any other driver could have taken the same bet, but they didnt......so on this occasion Lewis made his own luck and is rightfully profiting from it.

[Graz]

I find the fixation with titles repulsive and pompous.

If someone must be made a poxy 'sir' wait until retirement. Sir Andy Murray, Sir Bradley Wiggins (for now...). And the BBC in particular must always use the Sir bit.

There are people in the world who do genuine good for others with no revognition. Instead the establishment feels the need to go out multi millionaires who achieved what they did with the help of many unrecognized people behind them. Just another tool for them to promote themselves with and make even more money.

Cop yourself on lads, yiz are no better than the rest of us.

In case of doubt, I don't like this titles rubbish!! 😀

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Graz

If someone must be made a poxy 'sir' wait until retirement. Sir Andy Murray, Sir Bradley Wiggins (for now...). And the BBC in particular must always use the Sir bit.

As part of the requirement for nomination is that the intended recipient must still be actively involved in the field you are nominating them for, waiting until retirement is not necessarily an option.

And why should someone have to retire, before they can be recognised for achievement?

[midgetman]

People are a bit hard when they say the other athletes don't rely on their equipment as much as Lewis. After all tennis rackets are always advertised by winners and Lance Armstrong's "engineer" did as much as his PT instructor.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[chunder]

Some good arguments about this on radio yesterday.

People outside motorsport who don't really get the whole tax haven thing are bringing that up. And it is a fair argument. Why do we put up with all our drivers avoiding paying taxes, it doesn't happen in most lower league footy or even premier league.

That he runs around with a Union Jack on his back yet spends hardly any time here and does not live here, preferring to avoid paying tax.

I am not daft and realise even footballers and rugby players probably avoid paying tax in several ways, but to the layman, I do get slightly offended by people who do not contribute in the same ways we do being given honours.

He is international like Andy Murray, but he has not done anything unique or special, Murray did, he won Wimbledon as a Brit, achieved world No1, won the Olympics, helped UK win Davis Cup. All new achievements in recent history. Hamilton has done something achieved numerous times by numerous men and has no real other attributes. JYS campaigned for safety, that makes him a Sir alone away from his racing results.

Lewis has done nothing except win races and titles. His major one now is winning it 4 times.

[AdrianM]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

Really? 2008 wasn’t a dominant car, and I wouldn’t class this years car as dominant either. The red bull and Ferrari have been quicker than the merc on several circuits this year, had it not been for their implosion on the asian leg things could be looking a whole lot different.

Really, the stats show it and 2008 is a long time ago.

[AdrianM]

Originally Posted by chunder

Some good arguments about this on radio yesterday.

People outside motorsport who don't really get the whole tax haven thing are bringing that up. And it is a fair argument. Why do we put up with all our drivers avoiding paying taxes, it doesn't happen in most lower league footy or even premier league.

That he runs around with a Union Jack on his back yet spends hardly any time here and does not live here, preferring to avoid paying tax.

I am not daft and realise even footballers and rugby players probably avoid paying tax in several ways, but to the layman, I do get slightly offended by people who do not contribute in the same ways we do being given honours.

Oh come on, pretty much all sports stars are using the tax system to their advantage.

If he lived in this country and used tax avoidance schemes I might see the point but he lives abroad and pays the taxes he has to there.

The UK doesn't have a tax system where people who live abroad have to pay tax on their earnings here as well as some other countries do.

You're very naive if you don't think there is far more dodgy tax avoidance and even outright evasion going on in the Premier League.

[Akrapovic]

The only reason footballers don't live in Monaco is they'd be travelling back to the UK 4-5 days a week for playing and training. They'd spend more in flights (and time) than they'd save on tax.

I'm not a Lewis fan, but how can anyone say he hasn't done anything special? When he won his first title he was the youngest ever to achieve it. He's now equal 4th for the most titles ever won. Compared to Brits, not only has he won more titles than any other Brit, he's won more races than any other Brit (double the number, almost equal to Clarks percentage), he's won more in a single season than any other Brit, he's equalled the most consecutive wins by any other Brit, and he's equalled the record for most wins at the British GP.

I'm running out of random stats I can Google for. But I'm not sure what else Lewis can do to be considered unique or special. Comparing directly to Brits, he holds almost every record, and certainly more than any other Brit holds. Does he need to do it, but with a photo of Her Maj on top of his helmet?

[Mike Harte]

Chunder, the tax situation is not as clear-cut as you state.

Most F1 drivers from the UK would likely qualify for reduced or even rate tax due to the fact that they "work" out of the UK for more than 183 days a year, so living abroad is not necessarily for tax purposes. I think that if I could afford it, I would probably prefer to live in Monaco rather than on the windswept hills of Yorkshire.

I know that it is a long time ago, but in the 1980s I spent way more than 183 days each year flying between various business premises between the UK and the Far East. As such, all my income in those years was treated by the Inland Revenue as nil rate band income, even though my business covered all my travelling and living expenses whilst abroad.

To add a bit about footballers, following the HMRC's win in their court battle against the old Rangers club, there are a number of other major football clubs that are being lined up for some serious court battles. Unless, of course which is likely, they reach an out of court settlement to cover all the Income Tax and NIC that they have been avoiding for donkeys' years. And you only have to look at what is happening elsewhere, especially Spain where a couple of to footballers have recently avoided prison for tax avoidance. Plus there have been a few tennis players in Europe being prosecuted.

[GTRMagic]

Mr Webber lived in the UK most of the time he raced in F1 and paid UK taxes...