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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend competing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - consider 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 innovation into their 2025 season design.

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

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the car performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.