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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their approach to managing the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This is the manner we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period 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 putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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