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

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

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

"This is the way we intend competing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed 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 Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period 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 last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer 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 Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; 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 Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this way.

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 suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.