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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their approach to running the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on This Year's Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit 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 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 finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 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 slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost 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 claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

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

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate situation will emerge.