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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the final race of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

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

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

McLaren 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 finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong 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 execute a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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