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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their approach to running the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

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

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

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

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. 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 changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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 Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted 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 great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.