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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their method to running the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the approach we intend competing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race 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 closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong 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 were modified.

McLaren began this season with the best car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, 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 Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise picture will become clear.