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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

McLaren started this year with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.