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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This remains the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season 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 rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a significant 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."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, 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 expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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