Will McLaren Continue Playing Fair and Stop Max Verstappen? - F1 Questions and Answers

Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Be Fair?

McLaren are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to alter their strategy to managing the team.

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

"This represents the approach we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equal treatment to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren imploded.

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

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the gap on Max. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

All teams this season have had to face the dilemma of how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's typically the case that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to improve it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue optimising the performance and continue executing good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an completely correct basis. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a small fraction of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim 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 particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this season. But not all faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in F1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Competitive Order?

Before the cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance emerges.

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