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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to win the title, while the McLaren team 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 season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella commented following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes 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 the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

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

There is a lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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