Can McLaren Continue Maintaining Fair Play and Halt Verstappen? - Formula 1 Q&A

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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to modify their method to running the team.

They will persist to give their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and balance.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain fair, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season 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 missed out on the title as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the final race of the season and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

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

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider 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 chance, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

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

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 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 become clear.