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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to change their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren 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 season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said after the race 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 decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

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

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season 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 usually the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

The McLaren team began this season with the fastest car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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 Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Both 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 now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Barcelona 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 two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.