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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to alter their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the approach we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver 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 concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.