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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

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

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

"This is the way we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled 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 recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. 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 accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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