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

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

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the way we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up 17 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 engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the season and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella said following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the car performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

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

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

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

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

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

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