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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to running the team.

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

"This is the manner we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

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

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins 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 This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared 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 constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

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