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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their approach to managing the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we intend competing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on 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 Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles 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 Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

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

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time 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.