Can McLaren Continue Playing Fair and Halt Max Verstappen? - F1 Q&A

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

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

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This is the approach we plan racing. This remains the way in which we tackle competition, and we want to stay fair, and we want to apply equality to both drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered 17 points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented after the Grand Prix in Texas: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the lead on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can recall at least 2007, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Upgrades on This Year's 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 prepared as they can be for the significant regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

McLaren began this year with the fastest car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 season design.

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an straightforward choice to switch focus to the following season.

The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella said he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently look quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

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

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

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the Grand Prix.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

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

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now 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 ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this way.

Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I believe most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

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

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in winter testing next season, nobody will know how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors 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 two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

But, as ever, it's not until the season opener that the true and accurate situation will become clear.