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

Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

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

They will continue to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

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

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

Andrea Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the case that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely correct premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is currently much closer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

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

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 manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona 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 pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

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