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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

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

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront 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 coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

McLaren began this year with the fastest car, after investing 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 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, 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 Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying 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 Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance emerges.

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