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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims 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?

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

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

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing 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 victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and continue executing good 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 deliver a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

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

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

Each of 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 currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.