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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their approach to running the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, 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 close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

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

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at 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 innovation into their 2025 season design.

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.