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

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

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren imploded.

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

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

McLaren began this season with the best car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep delivering good 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 execute a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.