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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 challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their method to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan competing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

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

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race 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.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, 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 regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

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

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.