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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their method to running the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the way we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach competition, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready 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 succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

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

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

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted 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 change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 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 season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.