Can McLaren Keep Playing Fair and Stop Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

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

McLaren are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their approach to running the team.

They will persist to give both drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we intend competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous title battles. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he lost the title as race engineer to Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from under their noses.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race 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 mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the major rules overhaul coming for 2026.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that advantage can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

McLaren started this season with the fastest car, after investing a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Austin had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

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

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the result of this season and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently performing much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently look very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying 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 Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque made his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

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

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even now that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not all struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are looking next year.

The initial session, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the prying eyes of the press.

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

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate picture will emerge.