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

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the way we intend competing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. 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.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often 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 Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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