Will the McLaren team Continue Playing Fair and Stop Verstappen? - Formula 1 Q&A

Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to 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 championship battle this year, but they don't believe to alter their approach to managing the team.

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

"This is the manner we intend racing. This is the way in which we approach racing, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equality to both drivers."

Team boss Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to win the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the title as race engineer to Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari messed up their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Andrea Stella said after the race in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

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

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 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 usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.

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

They continued to develop it for a period, but were finding diminishing returns. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their new underfloor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he thought Lando Norris had the pace to challenge for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and keep delivering good weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't deliver a flawless race."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely accurate premise. It's correct that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, 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 Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, anyway.

Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc frequently at all this season, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

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

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

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on average Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not say even now that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

How Soon Can We Determine The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

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

The initial session, 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 scrutiny of the media.

So the pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed emerges.

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