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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

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

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix 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 Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit 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 best car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

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

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year 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 change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.