The Brit was officially crowned a four-time F1 world champion at the FIA's annual awards ceremony. 

He picked up the honour at a glittering ceremony at the Palace of Versailles in Paris before posting about it on Twitter.

Hamilton posted a picture of himself after the event and wrote: "Thank you, Paris."

But while many fans celebrated his incredible achievements, others hurled abuse and accused Hamilton of not paying taxes.

Referring to the plane in the background, one user wrote: "Vat free plane??" Another tweeted Hamilton and said: "pay your taxes lewis lol."

Another follower wrote: "Spot the person who really doesn't give a f**k what people think about his tax dodging. How much tax did you pay with that jet ?"

While a fellow user tweeted: "Did you pay tax on that plane behind you?!"

"Fantastic year lewis I guess you are getting a lift on somebody elses jet tho the media will be watching," wrote another.

It emerged last month that Hamilton got a £3.3million VAT refund from the Isle of Man by "renting out" his private jet through his own companies.

The Brit got the cash through a scheme that is currently being investigated by HM Customs and Excise.

According to the socalled "Paradise Papers", Hamilton, 32, bought the jet in 2013 and used shell companies to avoid the entire £3.3m VAT bill triggered when he imported it into England from Canada in 2013.

The accountancy firm EY and Appleby, the law firm at the centre of the Paradise Papers leaks, helped Hamilton and others set up seemingly artificial leasing businesses through which they rented their own jets from themselves.

Legal sources close to Hamilton said his tax arrangements had been checked and were lawful.

Apple was also caught up in the scandal after the tech firm was reported to have moved most of its £191bn of untaxed cash to offshore accounts in Jersey.

Apple says it is still the world's biggest taxpayer.