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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their method to running the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He won the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, 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 advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy 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 stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race 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 season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently look 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 failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

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