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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change 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 equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea 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 imploded.

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

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"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 claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation 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 advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly 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 previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

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

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

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