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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 challenge they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

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

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

Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, 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."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

McLaren began this year with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, 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 believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to understand 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 February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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