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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This represents the way we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 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 title as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams 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 scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

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

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

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

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

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