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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, 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 succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

McLaren started this year with the fastest car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate picture will emerge.