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

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to change their strategy to running the team.

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

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

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

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this championship 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, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex 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, anyway.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles 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 behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Carlos 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 now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

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

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

Before the cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.