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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

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

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

"This is the way we plan racing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach 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 the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules 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 improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep 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 didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

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

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

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

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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