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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

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

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

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This remains the way in which we approach racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

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

And he lost the title as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella stated after the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop 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 compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of 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 now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season 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 switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this way.

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

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise picture will emerge.