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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their strategy to running the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely 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 in fact 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 Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention 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 boss Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.