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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race 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."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

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

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

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

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

Until the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, 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 Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.