Mercedes F1 driver who on Sunday lost his F1 world title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a controversial manner will be knighted at Windsor Castle on Wednesday for services to motorsport, royal officials have confirmed.
The 36-year-old driver from Stevenage, England was eyeing a record-breaking eight world title on Sunday in Abu Dhabi will become the fourth F1 driver to be knighted after Sir Jackie Stewart in 2001, Sir Stirling Moss in 2000 and Sir Jack Brabham in 1979.
Starting from P2, Hamilton was leading the pack with just minutes left for the checkered flag. However, F1 race director Michael Masi altered the safety car procedure to allow five cars between the title rivals to get out of the way and Verstappen passed Hamilton on the final lap, benefiting from driving on newer tyres.
Both drivers were on 369.5 points ahead of the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and after the race, Hamilton was gracious in defeat, congratulating Verstappen and Red Bull for their victory. “Firstly congratulations to Max and to his team. I think we did an amazing job this year,” he said.
But fresh audio surfaced on this week where Hamilton was clearly not happy with the decision Masi took on Sunday and he was heard saying “This has been manipulated,” on his team radio.
The message was not broadcast on the TV feed but was audible on seven-times champion Hamilton’s onboard channel on F1TV.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Mercedes are considering to protest FIA’s decision yet again. They will get one shot at overturning the race result, however, they will not be able to take their claim to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
They have 96 hours after the event to submit papers, meaning the case is unlikely to be heard this week.
FIA rules, that all Formula One teams sign up for, give the governing body’s International Court of Appeal in Paris as the only arbiter for settling disputes, meaning Mercedes will have to convince a panel appointed by the FIA to find against the FIA.
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