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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason 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 represents the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team 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 look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this year 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 major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

The McLaren team began this year 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 experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos 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 Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.