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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their approach to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles 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 his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say 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 particularly liked 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 repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

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