Lewis Hamilton Is Named a Knight in the 2021 New Year Honours

It's Sir Lewis Hamilton. The vegan seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been knighted in the 2021 New Year Honours, announced on the evening of Wednesday, December 30.

The honor follows a record-breaking season in which Hamilton equaled Michael Schumacher's seven world titles and passed his record for Grand Prix wins. He becomes only the third F1 world champion to be knighted, after Sir Jack Brabham and Sir Jackie Stewart, notes Autosport. He already holds an MBE. Hamilton won 11 of the season's 17 races, missing one round after testing positive for Covid-19, and now has 95 Grand Prix wins.

The news comes days after Hamilton guest-edited BBC Radio 4's Today programme, when he spoke about his home town. As Motor Sport reports, he said: "I'm so proud of where I come from. I have so much love for Stevenage."

Hamilton went vegan in 2017 and has been one of the most high-profile plant-based athletes on the planet ever since. He is adamant it has made him stronger, not weaker:

I think my health has just got better and better over the last couple of years as I've gone to the plant-based diet,

He told the Express earlier this year that he is "able to lift more weight than I've ever done before".

It's been some year. Last month Hamilton won in Turkey to equal Schumacher's record seventh world title. Last year he featured in The Game Changers and opened a plant-based burger chain.

Arise, Sir Lewis. Powered by plants.