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Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

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

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren 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 final race of the championship and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Stella commented following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

McLaren started this year with the fastest car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Norris had the speed to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep optimising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect performance."

"Therefore we have a large opportunity, and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an completely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

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

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

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly setting times 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 last weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to claim that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver 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 currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - 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 get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this season. But not every driver faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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