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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their method to managing the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year 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 regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. 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 changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

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 say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver 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 switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate situation will become clear.