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

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

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

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 ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - 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 driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

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

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise picture will emerge.