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

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

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

"This is the manner we plan competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the final race of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, 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 mathematics."

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

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma 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 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the car performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex 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 regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting 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 understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.