🔗 Share this article

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

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

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

"This is the way we plan racing. This remains the method in which we approach competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, 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 continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

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

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors 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 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.