🔗 Share this article

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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the way we plan competing. This is the way in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race 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 Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop 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 easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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