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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

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

"This is the way we plan competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, 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 made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

The McLaren team began this year with the best car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season design.

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying 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 behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim 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 particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted 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 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.