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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

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

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the way we plan competing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

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

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

Every team this season have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

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

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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