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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their method to managing the team.

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

"This represents 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 equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea 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 secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the situation that if a team 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 last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly 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 Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind 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 optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this year.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams 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 new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.