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

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

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

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando 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 the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules 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 while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race 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 large chance, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes 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 described many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.