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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their method to running the team.

They will continue to provide both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

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

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting 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 Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large chance, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths 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 circuits, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging 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 year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it 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 believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.