Lewis Hamiton says Mercedes desperate to get F1 2013 runner-up spot

The German squad is currently in third place in the standings, 10 points behind Ferrari and 23 ahead of Lotus, which has been catching up with Mercedes in recent races.

Both Ferrari and Lotus have outscored Mercedes since the summer break.

Hamilton declared he would give his very best to try to secure second for his team.

"The guys at the factory are dying to have second. They want it so badly," Hamilton said. "I just want to deliver for them.

"I'm going to try to be the best I can ever be in these four races and see what I can get."

The Briton admitted Mercedes will have no choice but to raise its game in order to keep its rivals at bay, especially given Lotus's forum.

"Lotus has seriously upped its game and got some serious results in these last few races," he said. "Ferrari has also picked up a little bit of pace, so they are really our target. We are not targeting Red Bull.

"They are our main focus, but we still feel we can compete with them. We just need to do a better job in the last few races."

Hamilton said he remains uncertain as to why Mercedes has been unable to reproduce the kind of performances seen in the first half of the year.

"I don't know. Usually my second half of the season is always stronger, and I came back [from the break] feeling healthy, but we just weren't quick enough. For whatever reason the races haven't gone well."