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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the manner we plan racing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation 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 get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention 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 remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos 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 quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise situation will become clear.