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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their method to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix 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."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

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