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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship 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 next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

The McLaren team started this year with the best car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently 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 "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

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

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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