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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

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

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

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

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this season 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 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 considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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