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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past 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 third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued 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 compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and keep delivering good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

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

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

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

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.