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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with 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 give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

McLaren started this year with the best car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

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

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential 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 in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.