"You can't fault them for the amazing work" - Lewis Hamilton wants Mercedes to 'level up' in their bid to catch Max Verstappen and Red Bull

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton believes that a strong and dominant team like Red Bull cannot be blamed for the powerful machinery they have created while urging Mercedes to level up against the competition following the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix.

The Singapore Grand Prix was home to one of the most competitive and exciting races of this season as Red Bull's dominance finally came to an end with Ferrari marking their first victory since the 2022 Austrian GP.

Mercedes looked strong as well, with Lewis Hamilton making his way to P3, which would have been taken by his teammate George Russell if he hadn't crashed into the wall on turn 10 on the final lap.

Despite the fact that Red Bull were, in fact, non-competitive at the top in this race, Hamilton was asked about their domination this season.

When asked if he would rather get rid of Adrian Newey or Red Bull as a whole to end the dominance, Lewis Hamilton replied that he would prefer Mercedes to develop better and compete fairly. He said (quotes via Sky Sports):

"I was just asked a question earlier: 'Would you rather take Max out of the equation or take Adrian Newey out of the equation?' Or something like that. And I was like 'neither.' We just have to level up and do a better job."

"They have done an exceptional job. You can't fault them for the amazing work that they collectively are doing and have done. I would just want to level up all of us," he added.

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Lewis Hamilton feels 'positive' to see other teams develop this season

Beating Red Bull's dominance in the 2023 season has been the target for every single team within the top five this season, and it was ultimately achieved by Ferrari in Singapore. However, they were not the only team to do so.

It is evident that McLaren and Mercedes both were at around a similar pace as Carlos Sainz was being followed up by both Lando Norris and George Russell.

In fact, Sainz kept Norris 0.8 seconds behind him on purpose so that Russell would not overtake him for P2, which would have seen the Spaniard get into a tough battle with the Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton, talking about this development of the teams, mentioned that it is positive to see the teams developing and getting ahead this season.

"But I think it's great to see that others are… McLarens have picked up huge amount of pace, it's great to see that Ferrari have really stepped it up and I think it's a positive."