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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the difficulty they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their strategy to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - 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 lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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 not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will emerge.