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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy 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 equity and balance.

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

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually 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 Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

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

"Therefore 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?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he was. 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 last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season 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 many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

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

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.