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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to change their strategy to running the team.

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

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

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. 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 remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. 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 entirely correct premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

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

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