Lewis Hamilton hails 'impressive' 24-year-old rival during Saudi Arabia GP

Lewis Hamilton praised McLaren driver Lando Norris during Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Hamilton found himself chasing down fellow Briton Norris in the closing stages of the race.

They were two of the four drivers who stayed out at the beginning of the race when Lance Stroll’s crash brought out the safety car.

Norris led the race after that pit-stop phase, with eventual winner Max Verstappen second and Hamilton third.

Hamilton was the first of the two to make his pit stop for soft tyres in the closing stages, and Norris followed suit a lap later.

After a slow stop for the McLaren driver, Hamilton threatened to make a move as he hovered on the periphery of the one-second DRS window.

The 39-year-old got within range a couple of times but wasn’t able to get quite close enough to make a move.

Norris was trying to catch Ferrari stand-in Oliver Bearman but ultimately had to settle for eighth, with Hamilton finishing ninth.

Lando Norris wows Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia

Speaking over team radio on lap 40, Hamilton commended the performance of Norris and the McLaren through the high speed corners of sector one.

Norris frequently pulled multiple tenths on Hamilton through the sequence to give himself more breathing room heading into the DRS zones.

“That was impressive through the high speed with him,” he said.

While Norris himself will be disappointed with his result in Jeddah, there were positives to take for McLaren.

Teammate Oscar Piastri delivered the team’s strongest result of the season so far by finishing in fourth place.

And their strong performance in the high speed corners will bode well for circuits that are better suited to the MCL38.

Norris is gunning for his first Grand Prix victory this year and reigning world champion Verstappen has backed him to achieve it.

The 24-year-old may also have one eye on Hamilton’s soon-to-be-vacant seat at Mercedes as the seven-time world champion prepares to join Ferrari.

Damon Hill thinks he’ll ‘definitely’ be in contention for the drive with the Silver Arrows.