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

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren imploded.

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

Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

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

All teams this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver 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."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, 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 regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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