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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to modify their approach to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a basis of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the way we intend racing. This is the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

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

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for 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 F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a significant opportunity, and the result 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?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

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

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the 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 initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate situation will emerge.