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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

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

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

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, 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.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, 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 performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in 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 year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running 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 some kind of indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will become clear.