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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of 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 scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes 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 the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of 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 now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority 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 year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

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

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

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.