"I am delighted to hear that Lewis has justifiably been recognised for all the success he has achieved in motorsport," Stewart, who waited 28 years after retiring from F1 to be knighted, said.
"I know how hard it is to win three F1 World Championships, so to win seven is an extraordinary achievement."
Lewis, your motto is "Still he rises" but now it will be "Arise Sir Lewis."
Some would like to see you retire, at age 36, as a world champion, like Stewart did in 1973, and make way for younger, hungrier drivers. Williams driver George Russell, who more than ably substituted for you in the Bahrain GP after you unfortunately contracted coronavirus, might be one of them.
Toto Wolff, the boss of the Mercedes team you joined in 2013, believes you are an even better driver now than when you joined his team, so it is a bit curious that you start this New Year without a Mercedes contract, although some consider one has already been signed.
After learning of your knighthood, Wolff proclaimed: "Lewis is one of the very greatest racing drivers of all time and the most successful British sportsman of his era.
"Around the world, he has long been recognised for his sporting achievement; this year, he combined his excellence on the track with a powerful voice to fight discrimination. In every sense, he led the way in 2020.
"The news that he is to receive a knighthood shows that he is now receiving the recognition he has earned during a career of unparalleled success in motorsport. The UK can be proud to have a champion and ambassador of the calibre of Sir Lewis Hamilton."
In December you told us: "I plan to be here next year. I want to be here next year. As a team we have more to do together, more to achieve both in the sport and more outside the sport."
Sky sport commentator Martin Brundle told Sky Sports News the honour was "very well deserved".
"Seven world titles he has in his pocket, now equalling the great Michael Schumacher. He tops the tables in Formula 1 for most victories at 95, most pole positions at 98, most podiums at 165. Most of the young guns aiming to knock him off the pedestal are 10-15 years younger than him and he still turns up with his A game, full of energy, pushing like crazy."
Lewis, Brundle believes you could end up retiring with 150 race wins under your belt. That would mean 10 plus victories per year for the next five years, and make you a 12-time world champion!
Will you really want to hang around that long, Lewis, given you often state you have lots of other things to pursue, such as fashion, music, racial equality and saving the planet? Of course if you are serious about the latter, than to be honest Lewis, participating in a petrol guzzling sport, jet–setting around the world, even in a Covid-restricted environment, is not really compatible.
You really made your mark in F1 after you teamed up with your former friend Nico Rosberg in 2013, who then became a rival. You had already become a world champion with McLaren back in 2008, just your second year in Formula 1.
Actually, you very nearly won the title in your rookie season, but you got caught up in two-time world champion Fernando Alonso's tug of war with then McLaren boss Ron Dennis, who you told when you were 10 years old, that you would drive for his team one day.
That dream came true but that upstart Alonso, who felt he should have priority in the team, didn't factor in that Ron was like a second father to you, and he would do everything he could to help you beat him.
Not surprising therefore that Alonso felt aggrieved enough about the favouritism to spill the beans to the FIA about design blueprints that a disgruntled Ferrari employee had handed to a McLaren employee.
All hell broke loose and McLaren was fined $100 million for fraudulent acquisition of another team's intellectual property, even though Dennis testified the plans were never copied.
What became known as 'Spygate' guaranteed that Alonso would be headed back to Renault in 2008, and ironically Kimi Raikkonen in a Ferrari won the championship, as he finished one point ahead of you and Alonso.
To your credit, you took the title in 2008, but gee it was a close run thing, as you had to pass Timo Glock in his Toyota at the very last corner on the last lap of the Brazilian GP, just to finish fifth which meant you beat the race winner Felipe Massa in his Ferrari by just one point in the championship.
No doubt you have fond memories of that first title, celebrating with the team and your father Anthony. At the time you hinted you might be a McLaren driver forever, but maybe had second thoughts after your teammate Jenson Button finished second in the 2011 championship with 270 points, while you were only fifth with 227 points.
We know you like to beat your teammate, but that hasn't always worked out, because Rosberg beat you to the title in 2016, the only time a Mercedes teammate has. Mind you, the title battle took its toll on Nico mentally as he retired from F1 five days after becoming world champion, whereas you have gone on to win six titles with the team that has won the Drivers and Constructors' titles for seven consecutive years.
It seems a pity that you and Nico, who are neighbours in the principality of Monaco, fell out after being friendly rivals as you both made your way up through the ranks in F1. Maybe now that you are a knight, it will be possible for you to wander down to the apartment swimming pool you share with the Rosberg family and show Nico your gong?
He did congratulate you on Twitter when you became a 7x world champion, stating: "That's insane! Massively deserved, surely one of the greatest achievements in the history of sports."
No word so far from Nico on your knighthood but time to bury the hatchet maybe? When you get it, of course, as this damn Covid pandemic continues to cause havoc and bring death to so many in the UK and Europe where you live, and the £32 million Manhatten apartment, when you can get to it.
A good thing for Lewis that British PM Boris Johnson convinced the sports honours committee that decides these things to give you the nod, because you living in a tax exile like Monaco doesn't sit well with UK taxpayers.
We know you said in 2014 that you pay tax in 19 different countries and don't earn all your money in the UK. You also argued that you contribute to England as you "help keep a team of more than 1000 people employed" and you are therefore "part of a much bigger picture".
To be brutally honest Lewis, those living in the UK paying taxes won't see it that way. Mercedes employ the staff in the factories at Brackley and Brixworth, and they will now be aware you have apparently turned down an offer of £40 million per year plus a 10 per cent bonus for winning the championship. It seems that Daimler's board of directors is becoming restless about the contract negotiations.
Be careful Lewis, because when Russell substituted for you in Bahrain, he would have won the race but for the team bungling his pit-stop, and then the puncture he got. George showed that your teammate Vatteri Bottas is just a very good, but not great, driver, whereas young George looked every bit as good as you do in the best car ever to grace an F1 track. He is an exciting option for Mercedes and considerably cheaper, at a time when the sale of Mercedes cars are diminishing.
So Lewis, maybe you should accept whatever offer is on the table. It will be nice if you could drive to Buckingham Palace in the Mercedes W11 and park it in the courtyard, for your investiture, rather than take a taxi or a bus. But then again, given your concerns for the environment, maybe biking there is best. Boris Johnson could accompany you.
Although it is 2021, coronavirus doesn't recognise a calendar change and already the 23-race schedule is in jeopardy with the Australian GP likely to be postponed. You have survived the virus, but admitted it hurt you physically. Still, 2020 was your greatest year, and driving a championship car is a privilege, even for a knight.
Sky sports commentator David 'Crofty' Croft has cheekily suggested the first race of 2021 might begin with the words: "Is it knights out and away we go, from now on?"
Not if you're sitting on the sideline, Lewis. Remember, Russell wants your title, not the 'Sir' one but the WC one. So does Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and that other 'young driver' Alonso, not to mention Sergio Perez who has deservedly secured Alex Albon's Red Bull drive after losing his Racing Point drive to your mate Vettel, who would probably be a 'Sir" himself along with Schuey, if Germany bestowed such honours.
That's all for now Lewis, take care, as an eighth title is yours for the taking if you sign on the dotted line.
Yours sincerely
