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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

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

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella stated after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race 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 the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on This Year's 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 prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, 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 Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private 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 February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.