Can the McLaren team Continue Playing Fair and Halt Max Verstappen? - F1 Q&A

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

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

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed 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 secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost 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 season and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the conundrum of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring 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 beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

"So definitely we have a large opportunity, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our control. It's not 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 completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and dropped thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

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

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

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.