A defiant Lewis Hamilton issued a rallying call to his team on Sunday after finishing seventh in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The result saw him slip 25 points adrift of triumphant German Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari in the title race, but the Briton found positives to focus on in his recovery after starting from 13th on the grid.

“I feel pretty good,” said the three-time champion Mercedes driver. “I feel very positive. I am very happy. I came into the race a lot further back than I expected to be and I had no idea what was going to happen

“The beginning of the race was boring for me, but when I got some clear air, it was fun.

“The team said in our strategy meeting this morning that I could only get 10th place – so I am happy to be seventh. “The gap to Sebastian is big, but not impossible to close.”

He added: “This has been the most difficult weekend I have had for a while. That is why I just had to let my guys know we are not going to give up.

“To be 25 points down is a long way, but I am going to work as hard as I can to make sure a weekend like this is not repeated.”