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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with 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 provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at 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 led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this season 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 Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex 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, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this way.

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

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.