🔗 Share this article

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

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

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

"This is the way we intend competing. This remains the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea 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 old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated after the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

McLaren began this year with the best car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the car performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times 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 last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

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

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise picture will emerge.