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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their approach 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 fairness and balance.

"This is the approach we intend competing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

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

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter 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 teams preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of comparative speed emerges.

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