Can the McLaren team Keep Playing Fair and Stop Verstappen? - F1 Q&A

Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Be Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we plan racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

And he lost the championship as race engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season 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 lead on Max. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean 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 actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the performance and keep executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect 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 placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct premise. It's true that both 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 currently look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred 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 race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even currently, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping 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 get their head around when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in Formula 1 would expect not.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.