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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now 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 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are looking next year.

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

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.