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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

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

"This is the approach we intend competing. This remains the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the 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 third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; 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 switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

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

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.