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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

The McLaren team started this year with the best car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 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 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a significant 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 Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. 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 summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, 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 expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.