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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their method to running 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 equanimity.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella said following the race in Austin: "We view 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 driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season 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 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 last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

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

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform 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 battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc 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 best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - 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 repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.