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

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the way in which we approach racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Stella said after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case 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 last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season 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.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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