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

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their strategy to running the team.

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

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

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

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

Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

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

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now much closer 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 Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; 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 explained many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate situation will emerge.