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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their method 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 equity and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer 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 engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face 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 major regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the car performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this way.

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 believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.