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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to modify their approach to running the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix 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 mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

The McLaren team started this season with the best car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 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 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - 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 lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.