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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to managing the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we plan competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

McLaren started this season with the best car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is now much closer 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 Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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