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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the difficulty they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their approach to running the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the way in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points 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 final race of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix 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 closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next season will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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