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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to 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 championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the manner we intend racing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

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

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around 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 some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.