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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their method to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This represents the way we plan racing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

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

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked 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 manner.

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

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

Until the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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