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

They will persist to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, 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 Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap 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 rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"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."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

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

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

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

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.