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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal 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 previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, 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 catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

McLaren began 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 while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, 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 his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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