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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to alter their approach to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum 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 coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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