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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 fully conscious of the difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to running the team.

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

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This remains the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall 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 Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

The McLaren team started this year with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this season 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?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year 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 Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.