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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we plan racing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This last 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 remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently 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 venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

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