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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to change their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we intend racing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves 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, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

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

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.