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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their approach to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

McLaren began this year with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the result 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 Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.