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Must 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 encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering good 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 flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying 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 Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.