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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves 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, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Each of 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 claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona 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 scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.