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Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to alter their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents the manner we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races 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 made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella commented after the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively 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 in fact the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 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 situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

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

"We must keep maximising the performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

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

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

Until the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

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