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

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their strategy to running the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities 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 the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

All teams this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start 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 - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of 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 expecting the new rules next season will suit him; 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 switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

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

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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