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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist 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 intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at 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 driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis 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 now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - 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 understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will emerge.