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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

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

"We must continue optimising the car performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; 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 described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise picture will emerge.