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

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

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 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 mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos 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 regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

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

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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