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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their method to running the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said following the race in Austin: "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 team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past 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 title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team 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 - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting 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 floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep delivering good 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 execute a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

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

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around 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 February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance emerges.

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