🔗 Share this article

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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to modify their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

All teams this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain 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.