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

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

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

"This is the approach we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach racing, and we want to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Stella said after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at 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 driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

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

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

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

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

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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