Lewis Hamilton says he is going to do his best and try to chase down Kimi Antonelli

The seven-time Formula 1 Champion jumped to second place in the Drivers' Championship, 66 points behind leader Antonelli, and has been relishing his recent form, which saw him take second place at the Canadian Grand Prix as well after deciding to ditch the Ferrari simulator and do his own thing.

Hamilton hailed Antonelli following the Monaco Grand Prix and said: "He's doing a phenomenal job.

"He's got an amazing team around him with [Race Engineer] Bono [Peter Bonnington] and Toto [Wolff] and the whole team. And then for him in this moment to be delivering on the level ​that he's delivering, it's awesome to see.

"It just encourages me to want to level up, ​and I think encourages everybody wanting to level up. He's only 19, so just imagine what the future ‌holds ⁠for him.

"But I'm going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year," the Briton vowed. "It's a real privilege to witness it. Very much reminds me of me when I was back in 2007."

Back in 2007, Hamilton was a McLaren rookie who gave his then teammate, two-time F1 Champion Fernando Alonso, a run for his money after a bitter season-long battle as the pair finished level on points with Hamilton classified ahead based on race finishes. Kimi Raikkonen was Champion.

What made the second place in Monaco sweeter for Hamilton was that he is now level with idol Ayrton Senna in terms of podium finishes at the principality—eight podiums.

He said: "To get another second place is such a great feeling, especially in Monaco, under the trickiest conditions.

"Just to ​be in his presence, in the sense of the eight podiums, is very cool. I still remember being young and ​watching Ayrton, and still today he's my favorite driver," Hamilton concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)