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

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

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella said after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led 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 mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis 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 currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting 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 driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred 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 The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

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

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

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