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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to running the team.

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

"This is the approach we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the car performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

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

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.