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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach 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 The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

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

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties 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 Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

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

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

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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