🔗 Share this article

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

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

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the approach we plan racing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus 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 F1, it's usually 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 - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

McLaren began this year 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 experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the car performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's less certain that, in 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 season, either in qualifying or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on balance Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say 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 venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

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

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.