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

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they don't believe to modify their strategy to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember 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 claims the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to confront the conundrum 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 Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

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

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the car performance and continue executing good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the outcome of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing 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 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 previously. He is regularly setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on balance Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes 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 Hamilton has described many times this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he moved to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny 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 relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.