🔗 Share this article

Must McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to modify their approach to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall 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 claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Before the F1 cars run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking 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 media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

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