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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to modify their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the approach we plan competing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella said following the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix 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 closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated 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 speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and keep delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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