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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the manner we intend racing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise picture will emerge.