Plus: Lewis Hamilton on what, if anything, the sudden turnaround in the formbook at Singapore means; watch the Japanese Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend, with qualifying at 7am on Saturday and the race underway at 6am on Sunday
Last Updated: 19/09/23 12:04pm
Lewis Hamilton is still waiting to extend his record of 103 career race wins
Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes collectively need to “level up” to take the fight back to Red Bull in Formula 1 next season.
For the second successive year, the former champions have found themselves well out of the world title fight, with victory at last November’s Sao Paulo GP their only one since F1’s car design rules were dramatically overhauled for the start of 2022.
Double champions last year, Red Bull have put together one of F1’s most dominant campaigns ever this time around, with second-placed Mercedes more than 300 points adrift in the Constructors’ Championship.
Although there have been some off-track barbs fired between the long-time rivals in recent weeks, Hamilton made clear in the build-up to the Singapore GP that he had great admiration for what Red Bull and Max Verstappen were achieving – and that the onus was on Mercedes to catch them up.
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Lewis Hamilton believes his qualifying needs to improve as he felt he could have been on pole after securing a podium in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton believes his qualifying needs to improve as he felt he could have been on pole after securing a podium in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Speaking at Marina Bay, Hamilton said: “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.
Lewis Hamilton: George Russell was ‘phenomenal’ before Singapore crashStream every F1 race and more with NOWSky Sports F1’s full live Japanese GP schedule
“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.”
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Check out the funniest moments from the Singapore GP, including lizards, Ted breaking things and the return of the ‘smooth operator’.
Check out the funniest moments from the Singapore GP, including lizards, Ted breaking things and the return of the ‘smooth operator’.
Hamilton continues his wait for a record-extending 104th career race win. But while most of his 16-year F1 career has been associated with great success, the seven-time champion pointed out that there were also periods before Mercedes’ own era of dominance when things were similarly difficult to now.
“I think people just seem to remember the seven years or eight years that we were competitive,” he said.
“Don’t forget the years before that where I had pretty interesting cars at that time. So, I’ve had years like last year and this year and, of course, when you are faced with adversity and faced with a challenge like we have, collectively as a team you learn more than you do when it’s smooth sailing up front.”
Giving an example of where he feels Mercedes have got better, Hamilton said: “I think the communication has improved massively in this past year and it’s been a really interesting process for us all.
“For people to be able to sit down and say ‘you know what, yeah, we made the wrong decisions, can you work with us to help rectify it and move forwards,’ and that’s what we have done these past two years.
“So, I think it’s been a growing experience within the infrastructure. I think I’ve probably had to try to commit even more time just through sheer will of wanting to get there. And I think everyone has. But I don’t mind it, because we don’t like to lose, and we love the job that we do, so I’m enjoying it.”
Hamilton on Singapore’s surprise: ‘Time will tell’
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George Russell, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton all pass Max Verstappen as his weekend continues to go from bad to worse!
George Russell, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton all pass Max Verstappen as his weekend continues to go from bad to worse!
As it turned out, Singapore presented Mercedes with their best chance of a victory so far in 2023, on a weekend Red Bull’s hitherto dominance evaporated.
Ferrari were ultimately the ones to cash in on Sunday with Carlos Sainz just pipping McLaren’s Lando Norris and a charging Hamilton, who moved up a place on the last lap when team-mate George Russell crashed just ahead of him as Mercedes piled the pressure on the leading duo.
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Hamilton was asked for his take on the sudden turnaround of the formbook – and whether there was any chance it might last.
“I wasn’t really watching much of others this weekend so I don’t really know why they’re off pace-wise,” said Hamilton on Sunday night about Red Bull, who finished fifth and eighth.
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George Russell crashes out on the final lap of a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix as Carlos Sainz holds on to win, with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton completing the top three.
George Russell crashes out on the final lap of a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix as Carlos Sainz holds on to win, with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton completing the top three.
“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.
“I think, probably if you think about it, they haven’t been developing. Obviously, McLaren brought an upgrade here. Others are bringing upgrades, they’re working on next year’s car. They have less wind tunnel time, so then they’re probably using some of this year’s on to next year’s.
“They would have definitely migrated before us. So, no, I think it’s just one of those things. They are so clear ahead that maybe they’re developing their car less and we are still pushing to develop our current one. But time will tell.”
Get ready to set those early alarms as Formula 1 now heads to Suzuka for the Japanese GP. Watch all sessions live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday morning. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW. Cancel anytime
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