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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider 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 innovation into their 2025 design.

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

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed 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 executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the prying eyes 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 becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.