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

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

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

They will persist to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of fairness and balance.

"This represents the approach we plan competing. This remains the method in which we approach competition, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous title battles. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall 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 close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

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

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes 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 continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules were modified.

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

They did continue to improve it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team principal Stella stated he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to continue maximising the car performance and keep executing good weekends. And from this point of view, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate premise. It's true that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are now performing significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

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

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari driver this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - 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 lot for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not every driver faces difficulties in this manner.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max 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 run for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

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

But, as always, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.