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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This is the manner we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

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

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

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined 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 last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled 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 considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

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

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

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will emerge.