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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 obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella commented following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, 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 straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying 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 Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

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