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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their strategy to running the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

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

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the lead 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 2007, 2010, in which you go to 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?

All teams this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.