Can the McLaren team Keep Playing Fair and Halt Verstappen? - Formula 1 Q&A

Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the difficulty they face with Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we intend competing. This is the way in which we approach competition, and we want to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to extend the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you go to the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by mathematics."

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

Every team this season have had to confront the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 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 team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that advantage can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

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

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not ended up following Leclerc.

"We just have to keep optimising the performance and continue delivering good 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 opportunity, and the result of this championship and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc very often at all this season, either in qualifying or race.

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second slower than his teammate when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Each of Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next season will suit him; 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 described repeatedly this season. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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