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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to alter their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation 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 succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. 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 accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

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

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.