Can the McLaren team Keep Maintaining Fair Play and Halt Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

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

The McLaren team are well aware of the challenge they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, but they see no reason to modify their method to managing the team.

They will persist to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This is the way we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we tackle competition, and we want to remain fair, and we intend to apply equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many championship fights. He won the title as engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella stated following the Grand Prix in Texas: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to increase the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will only be determined 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 third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by the calculations."

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

All teams this year have had to face the conundrum of for how long to concentrate on their 2025 season car while also making sure they are as prepared as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In Formula 1, it's typically the case that if a constructor 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 benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a period, but were finding reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus 2026, it became an easy decision to switch focus to next year.

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

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

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, I'm not sure the inquiry has an entirely accurate basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring much better.

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

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

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

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred tracks, he was a second behind Leclerc when the Monegasque made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on balance Charles Leclerc has not been the better Ferrari racer this season.

Each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not say even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this way.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the start of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Before the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are looking in the upcoming season.

The first test, 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 pair of sessions in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time a certain indication of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's only at the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.