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

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

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

"This is the manner we plan racing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He claimed the championship as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title 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 Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the last race and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this season have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car compared to the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since bringing their new floor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and continue delivering strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't deliver a perfect race."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our control. It's not 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 both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles 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 slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Before the F1 cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.