🔗 Share this article

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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we plan competing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Stella said after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

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 catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny 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 becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.