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Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the challenge they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This represents the approach we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

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

And he lost the championship as engineer to Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the championship from under their noses.

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

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished following Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a significant chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not placed in another team's control."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes 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 get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

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

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the media.

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

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