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

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

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

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

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, 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 after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready 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 considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue optimising the car performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"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."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or race.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

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

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

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

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.