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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their method to managing the team.

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

"This is the approach we intend competing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Stella commented following the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact 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 season have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

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

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average 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 change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping 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 change constructors, as Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.