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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 difficulty they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to running the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we intend competing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. 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 past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team 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 last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

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

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex 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.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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