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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to alter their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led 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 claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

McLaren started this year with the best 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 reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping 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 driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

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

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

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