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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to alter their method to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he lost the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

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

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

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

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.