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

McLaren are fully conscious of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than 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 race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim even now 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 venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know 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 understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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 ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will become clear.