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Do McLaren Face the Truth 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 the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race 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 the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a 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 final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying 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 Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described many times this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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