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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan competing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

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

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team 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 - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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