Will McLaren Continue Playing Fair and Stop Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they face with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this year, but they see no reason to change their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This is the way we intend racing. This remains the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to both drivers."

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

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

Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

Why Did McLaren Stop Upgrades on This Year's Car?

Every team this season have had to face the dilemma of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that advantage can last for a while - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not in another team's control."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat sticky opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

Hamilton has failed to outperform Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or race.

He is currently much closer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and dropped 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

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

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

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

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

So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on February 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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