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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

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

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue executing good 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 deliver a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths 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 Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams 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 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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