Sir Lewis Hamilton's call for Africans to 'take back countries' from the UK shows the titled has become the entitled

For despite having been invested with this and other UK honours, as well as benefiting enormously from living in this country, the racing legend has now called on Africa to "take countries back" from the likes of the British.

The seven-time world champion delivered his outburst ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, rallying — every pun intended — the people of that great continent to reclaim it from the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese and the British.

“It’s so important for the future of that continent,” flexed the star.

Let’s set aside, for a moment, the fact that we are living through a time of terrifying and escalating conflict in the Middle East. So calling for any kind of uprising, however notional, in Africa isn’t exactly a great look.

The sheer brass neck of Sir Lewis in making such a statement is staggering. The titled, it seems, has become the entitled.

Of course, he should rightly be proud of his African heritage; the Formula One icon has roots in Benin, Senegal and Nigeria.

But he was brought up in the UK, and it was here that his career was nurtured.

The Stevenage-born racing star began karting at the age of six, won several national titles and soon attracted the attention of Ron Dennis, who signed him to the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Programme in 1998.

His career was, of course, driven by exceptional talent — but it was also powered by a motorsport industry overwhelmingly based in Britain.

So turning his back on a country that has given him so much isn’t merely biting the hand that fed him — it’s wolfing it down in one go.

When Hamilton willingly took the knee at the Palace to receive his knighthood, it appeared to be an embracing of tradition, not a virtue-signalling nod to the BLM movement.

The 41-year-old racing star — now reportedly dating Kim Kardashian — has, of course, already shown his feelings about the UK by relocating to a tax haven rather than spending his wealth in the country that helped create it.

He has a net worth of £385 million, making him the wealthiest British sportsperson of all time.

The move is, of course, perfectly lawful. But it hardly screams gratitude.

So if Sir Lewis wants to moralise from a position of such extraordinary privilege, perhaps he should put his vast quantities of tax-efficient money where his mouth is.

Rather than flat-packing the complexity of colonial history into a simplistic moral narrative, why not help the people of Africa directly? Not merely by campaigning for a Grand Prix on the continent — which might conveniently align with his own ambitions — but by using his immense profile and fortune to build schools, expand opportunity or invest in communities.

In making such excoriating statements about Britain - the country that incubated, celebrated and honoured him - Lewis Hamilton doesn`t sound like a champion. Just a sore loser.

If he wants to send the knighthood back, I'm sure a collection for the postage won't be difficult to arrange.

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Angela Epstein is an experienced journalist and writer.

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