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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

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

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

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

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure 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 constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

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

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, 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 pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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