Arise Sir Lewis? Why Hamilton deserves to be knighted after winning five world titles ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

Some love him, some don't, but one thing we can all surely agree on is he is hugely successful and for that, he deserves to be knighted.

While the likes of Alastair Cook and Andy Murray have been rewarded for their services to their respective sports of cricket and tennis, Hamilton's achievements in motorsport have gone unrewarded by Her Majesty, despite having won the world title FIVE times.

Now, this is not going to turn into an article about whether the current sporting knights and dames deserve their gongs.

But they do muddy the water in trying to understand just why Hamilton has missed out.

Looking at his on-track success, it is a no-brainer.

Hamilton has raced in 229 F1 GPs and won 73 of them.

He has 83 poles, 134 podiums and 40 fastest laps.

But perhaps the most impressive statistic is that he has won 51 of the last 100 races.

There will be those who say he has only done so because he has driven the best car – and in part they will be correct.

Mercedes have been impressive, but only in Hamilton's hands, for his current teammate, Valtteri Bottas – driving equal machinery – didn't win a single race in 2018.

Furthermore, for the majority of the last campaign, Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari was the quicker car.

He was out-scoring and out-pacing Hamilton until the Brit built up a head of steam and knuckled down and focused on beating the German.

His recent performances have been flawless (I cannot remember him making a major mistake over the last few years), while Vettel has made a string of them.

More criticism will come from those who say his sport is niche and as there are only 20 drivers competing in F1, then his chances of winning are undoubtedly high.

Yet the competition to reach F1 is massive and if we turn the question around, how many countries have elite cycling programmes as well funded as we do in Britain?

Is he snubbed because he lives in Monaco and enjoys the benefits of reduced taxation?

He was blasted for his plan to avoid a tax payment on his private jet as implicated in the Paradise Papers, yet there was no charge; he did nothing wrong in the eyes of the law.

Ultimately, his decision to live in Monaco is what he wants, in the same way Mo Farah once moved to Oregon for his Nike project.

Perhaps the reality is whoever draws up the names for the Queen's Honours Lists doesn't really like motorsport.

After all, gongs are rarely dished out to those working in motorsport, the biggest example is to John Surtees, who died in 2017, and never received the accolade he so deserved.

He was crowned the 500cc motorcycle world champion five times AND the 1964 Formula One world champion – the only man to hold both titles.

On top of that, he was also the founder of the Henry Surtees Foundation, set up in memory of his son who died in a Formula 2 crash in 2009.

That charity now helps victims of accidental brain injuries and works to promote safety in driving and motorsport.

A hero on and off the track, Surtees was never properly honoured the way he should have been.

I hope it does not turn out the same way for Lewis.

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