🔗 Share this article

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

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their method to running the team.

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

"This is the way we plan racing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay fair, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

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

Every team this year have had to confront the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team 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 advantage can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

McLaren 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 period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is currently much closer than he previously. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

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

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

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

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