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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the difficulty they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

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

"This is the approach we intend racing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

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

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

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

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a large chance, 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 Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently 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 lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, 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 initial occasion some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.