Lewis Hamilton, a day after losing out on his eighth title in Formula 1 racing, was knighted on Wednesday by Prince Charles at the Windsor Castle. The title was given in recognition of the 36-year-old’s shining career in car racing.

Hamilton became only the fourth Formula 1 racer to be presented with a knighthood, following the path of Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jack Brabham and Sir Jackie Stewart. The Mercedes driver was accompanied by his mother — Carmen Lockhart– at the ceremony.

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According to reports from Guardian, the British racer’s name was added to the new year honours list for surpassing the record of Michael Schumacher in 2020 and securing his seventh world title.

Lewis Hamilton currently holds the Formula 1 record for most races won– 103– throughout his career and is also tied with Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championship titles.

Days before the ceremony at Windsor Castle, Hamilton missed out on another title after losing to Dutch racer Max Verstappen, who claimed his first-ever title. The race was hosted in United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi. 

Hamilton had a record eighth championship ripped away with five laps remaining when a crash by Nicholas Latifi triggered the safety car and gave race director Michael Masi a decision. The season-ending race and championship could be decided under yellow, or, the track could be cleaned for one final lap of racing.

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Hamilton had been on cruise control and dominated Sunday after surging past pole-sitter Verstappen at the start. He led 51 of the 58 laps and was minutes away from breaking a tie with Michael Schumacher for an eighth title that would strengthen his case as best in F1 history.

Verstappen and Hamilton arrived in Abu Dhabi tied in the standings after 21 races across four continents, the first time since 1974 the contenders were level ahead of the finale. The rivals went wheel-to-wheel all season, crashing three times with Verstappen sent to the hospital after a collision at Silverstone.