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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to alter their approach to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

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 said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying 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 his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

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

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect most in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

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

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

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.