Lando Norris came very close to a podium finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, missing out by just over a second to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc...and McLaren team boss Andrea Stella thinks Lewis Hamilton played a part in that.

Hamilton wasn’t fighting for the podium himself as he finished seventh overall, but his clever driving early in the race may have cost Norris the time he needed to get ahead.

After a crash in Q3 on Saturday, Norris started the race from 10th place and had to fight his way through the pack. By Lap 12, he was behind Hamilton, and tried to pass him twice into the final corner using DRS.

But both times, Hamilton braked early and let Norris through just so he could use DRS himself down the main straight and take the place back at Turn 1. Norris finally figured it out and made the move stick on the third attempt, but by then he’d already lost a few valuable laps and seconds.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Stella said that battle may have been the key reason Norris didn’t make the podium: “I think you’re right. I think when the racing is so tight, it’s a matter of one or two seconds, then having lost the time with Lewis, that was a bit of a problem.

“Obviously, Lewis, he knows very well how to race,” Stella added. “So Lando, it took a couple of attempts to realise that he needed to overtake Lewis in corner one.”

Those extra laps stuck behind Hamilton made the difference in the end, with Norris finishing just 1.092 seconds behind Leclerc. “Anyhow, that was ultimately impactful for Lando’s chances of winning the podium,” Stella said.

“But I think there will be many ifs here and there. I think the biggest if is yesterday with a good qualifying, what we could have done today. But this is in our hands, this is under our control. We just have to be head down, feet on the ground and improve.”

Norris himself didn’t blame the fight with Hamilton, and instead pointed to his Saturday crash as the main reason he couldn’t get into the top three. In the end, he said P4 was “the best we could have done.”