🔗 Share this article

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

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they confront 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 persist to give their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the way we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the title as engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view 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 exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding 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 the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

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

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

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

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

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

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

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