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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to modify their approach to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

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

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. 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 season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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