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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

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

"This is the way we intend competing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on This Year's Car?

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

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

The McLaren team started this year with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the car performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Both 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 claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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