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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 Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan racing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella said after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to 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 lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging 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 expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

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

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

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