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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella stated after the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and keep executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

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

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir 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 season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.