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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This remains the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship 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 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 sneak the championship from their grasp.

Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor 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 - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

McLaren began this year with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving 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 new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

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

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

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.