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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we approach racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, 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 close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the car performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted 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 great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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 true and accurate situation will emerge.