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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to alter their strategy to managing 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 equanimity.

"This is the approach we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race 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 This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We just have to keep optimising the car performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

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 Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say 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 really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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