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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their strategy to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call 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 final Grand Prix 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?

All teams 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 prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

The McLaren team started this season with the best car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand 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 first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.