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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella said after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit 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 fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 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 achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting 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 explained repeatedly this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

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

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking 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 initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.