Hamilton: “Rocketship” McLaren too fast for us in F1 British GP

The seven-time world champion benefitted from the timing of a safety car to put himself into a podium position spot late on as he ran third behind Norris.

At the restart, he was on what looked to be the better soft tyres, against Norris on the hards, but he failed to find a way past.

While he managed to hustle his way alongside at one point on the run down to Copse Corner, the straight-line speed of the McLaren allowed Norris to retain his place.

And thereafter, Hamilton did not have another chance to get back as Norris was able to stretch his legs on the high-speed Silverstone swoops.

Having come home in Norris’s shadow, Hamilton told his Mercedes pitwall over the team radio about how impressed he was with the performance of Norris’s car.

“That McLaren is a rocketship,” declared Hamilton. “That speed is insane.”

Speaking after the race, Hamilton praised the performance of the McLaren, as he congratulated Norris on his result.

“I just want to say a big congratulations to Lando and to McLaren,” said Hamilton. “It was my family, it was where I first started. So to see them back up there looking so strong.

“That thing was rapid through the high-speed corners. I was just 'wow'. I couldn't keep up, but we had a good little battle on the restart.”

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Hamilton said that Norris was too far ahead each lap once the cars hit the fastest corners around the Silverstone track, which left him unable to catch back up in the low-speed sections.

“Once he goes through Turn 15 [Stowe] he is gone. We had good performance in the low speed but just didn't have the grunt on the straights. But I'm really happy to know that starting seventh and coming third is a mega, mega job.”

Although slightly disappointed to have missed out on second place, Hamilton said that being able to finish so close to McLaren – and not too far adrift of Red Bull – was encouraging.

“I think this is a good positive for us as a team to know that we're not that far away,” he said. “We have just got to keep on pushing and we can catch those guys up front.”