🔗 Share this article

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

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

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we intend racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he lost the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

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

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

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the car performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of 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 significant chance, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

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

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted 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 lot for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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