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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start 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 - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

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

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 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.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.