Can the McLaren team Keep Playing Fair and Stop Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That if You Want Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they encounter with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their strategy to running the team.

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

"This represents the way we intend competing. This is the method in which we approach racing, and we want to remain fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and the Red Bull team to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella said following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the lead on Max. 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 experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, 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 close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on This Year's Car?

All teams this year have had to confront the conundrum of how long to focus on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were achieving on their 2025 season car compared to the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to switch focus to next year.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up following Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the performance and continue delivering strong weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Hamilton and Sainz had somewhat difficult first halves of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

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

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

He is now much closer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the mid-season break.

This last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his tire change, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Each of 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 claim even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the new rules next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe most in F1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the cars are driven for the first time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to get their heads around their initial track time 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 first time some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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