Can McLaren Continue Playing Fair and Stop Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Q&A

Must McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That if You Want Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are fully conscious of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to change their method to running the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the manner we plan competing. This remains the method in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to apply equality to both drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the championship 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 title, while the McLaren team collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella commented following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a driver, this will exclusively be led by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that wins the championship. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is determined by the calculations."

Why Did McLaren Cease Development on This Year's Car?

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul scheduled for 2026.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a long time to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

McLaren started this season with the best car, after putting a lot of technical development into their 2025 season 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 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 closed the gap since introducing their updated underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Stella stated he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Texas had he not finished behind Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you think of a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the car's potential and we didn't execute a perfect performance."

"So definitely we have a significant chance, and the result of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, I'm not sure the inquiry has an completely correct basis. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon do now look quite balanced. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, at least.

Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

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 not been the superior Ferrari racer this season.

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

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect the majority 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 pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams preferred to get their heads around their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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