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

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

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of fairness and equanimity.

"This is the manner we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

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

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach 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 mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease 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 making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change scheduled for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

The McLaren team started this year with the best car, after putting 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 bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus 2026, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and continue executing strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a perfect race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly difficult first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque completed his tire change, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari racer this year.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting 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 racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Lewis Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this way.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will know 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 wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion some kind of sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the season opener that the complete and precise situation will emerge.