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

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

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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 championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella said after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision 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 [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development 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 ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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