🔗 Share this article

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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront 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 persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view 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 team driver, this will only be led by the numbers."

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

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

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

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

McLaren began this season 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 experiencing 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 redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and keep executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

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

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, 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 hoping the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

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

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate picture will become clear.