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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated after the race in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race 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."

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

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and keep delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix 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 in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

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

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

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