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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

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

"This is the manner we intend competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, 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 Development on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently significantly nearer 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 Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.