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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

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

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

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed 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 Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter 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 private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

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