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Must 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 encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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 final race of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella said after the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race 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 Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

McLaren started this season with the best car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our control. 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 completely accurate basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. 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 failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.