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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their method to running the team.

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This remains the method in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

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

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

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

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 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 start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time 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 regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

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

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

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir 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 first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.