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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

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

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we plan competing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively 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 title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning 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 most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, 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 nose section at the Italian 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 ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. 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 entirely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed 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 new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.