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

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

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

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the title 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 enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 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 situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon do now appear very even. 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 failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of comparative speed emerges.

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