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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we plan competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the championship from under their noses.

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

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

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

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep executing strong race 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 flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing much better.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed 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 many times this year. But not all faces difficulties 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 Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Until the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.