🔗 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 Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to change their approach to managing the team.

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

"This is the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

All teams this year have had to confront 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 significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull 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 Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

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

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

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

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

Hamilton would not say 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 particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a 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 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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