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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

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

"This is the manner we intend competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

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

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, 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 difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot 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 struggle in this way.

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

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will emerge.