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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 difficulty they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their method to managing the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the dilemma 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 scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

McLaren started this year with the best 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 diminishing returns. 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 switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed 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 many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

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

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