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

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Max 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 continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This is the manner we intend racing. This remains the way in which we approach racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the final race of the season and enabled Vettel and the Red Bull team to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum 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 the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now performing much better.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles 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 full 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 optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

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

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

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Team Performance?

Until the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

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

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

But, as ever, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise picture will become clear.