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

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy to managing 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 intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race 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 Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this season 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 rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

The McLaren team started this season with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation 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 getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, 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 challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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