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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

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

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix 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 closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 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 underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

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