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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

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

They will persist to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul 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 recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. 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 mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to understand 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 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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