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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

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

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

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - 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 racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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