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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy 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 equity and balance.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This is the method in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix 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 only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for 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 scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing much better.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

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

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

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

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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