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

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

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

"This represents the way we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, 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 mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, 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 began this year with the fastest car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not 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 entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.