I have another - equally cynical - thought why Lewis didn't get 'gonged', but I decline to air it... esp as it hasn't been a factor in the past.
More likely because he doesn't actually live/pay tax in the UK. See also - Beckham, David. Or various isms.
That's never stopped them before. In all seriousness, I think it's mostly because he's still racing and isn't old enough to have achieved that coveted national treasure status. Once he's safely retired as the greatest racing driver of all time*, they'll give him a knighthood sometime in his fifties. *That isn't named Fangio, Moss, Clark, Stewart, Ickx, Andretti or Senna.
Looks like Jordan is in for another rebranding for 2021: Jordan - Midland - Spyker - Force India - Stroll - Aston Martin https://www.theguardian.com/busines...-to-enter-f1-from-2021-under-500m-rescue-deal
This is actually quite interesting, also we have Merc making a big decision on the 12th as to if they will stay as a constructor or not, the losses Damiler posted kind of point to them pulling out though.
The odd thing is, someone did the math and worked out, after constructors championship money, sponsor deals and whatever bonuses they get from FIA, Merc only actually had to spend 35m for last season. I say "only", but surely that's a drop in the ocean for their global advertising budget?
Its perception Vs reality with that though, they are laying off about 10K staff, but then still stay in a rather extravagant form of motorsport which can been seen as a needless expense. They could easily argue canning the F1 team to focus on more road centric actives which puts their new FE team in an awkward situation, though it would probably survive as its electric so more in tune with being green and the future of cars. Engine wise they are tied in till 2025 at Brixworth HPU, but that will be diversifying to make the FE powertrains and any high performance limited runs they dabble with. Question is, if Merc do leave, would anyone fill their seat? Porsche and BMW are in FE, VAG have mooted a no under any branding. I cant see Toyota coming in even through they technically are the largest manufacturer. We could see some random consortium buy out but with Stroll Scooping up the Aston Martin brand (which IMO is great) it leaves very few pieces on the table at present.
No car manufactures are going to jump into F1 now - VAG group and BMW laid the foundations for electric-only motorsport programs. Toto already owns part of the racing team, I saw the Lauda family gave/sold back their shares not long ago, too. I suspect Toto will attempt to "do a Brawn" and take over the team as an indepent outfit... Wolff Racing sounds pretty good, tbf!
VAG - No, F1's higher ups have repeatedly tried and failed to get them to show interest. Toyota - after last time? I doubt it. BMW - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ PSA - Is it really their 'thing'? They prefer Endurance-y type stuff like Le Mans and Dakar. Ford - as much as they like [being seen] to **** over ferrari, probably not much in it for them as their target markets and f1's audience probably don't overlap much. GM - probably can't afford it A lesser-known like China's Geely [as Lotus, Volvo doesn't exactly scream 'F1'] or India's Tata [as Jaguar]? Again, doubtful, but probably more likely than getting an 'established' name back. Cosworth - Can't afford it [it's why they stopped when they made the move to hybrids].
