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

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

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

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

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

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

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma 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 rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

The McLaren team started this year with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

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

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - 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 great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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