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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we plan racing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead 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, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start 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 Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.