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

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

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

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

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella said following the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

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 considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

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

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Both Lewis Hamilton and 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 the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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