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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and keep executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now 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, at least.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

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

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 particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not all struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well 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 F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.