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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to modify their method to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

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

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about 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 completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. 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 Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.