Can McLaren Keep Maintaining Fair Play and Stop Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

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

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

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

"This represents the approach we plan racing. This is the method in which we tackle competition, and we aim to remain fair, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He won 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 championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when the Ferrari team messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the championship from under their noses.

Stella commented following the race in Texas: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as chances to increase the gap on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We rely on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to close the door unless this is determined by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new rules cycle, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - look at Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They did continue to develop it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when evaluating 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 bringing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren remains competitive - team boss Stella said he believed Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Charles Leclerc.

"We just have to keep maximising the car performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku, we failed to optimize the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

First of all, it's uncertain the question has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat sticky first halves of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are now faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear very even. However, it's less certain that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently 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 last weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and dropped 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the best 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 Carlos Sainz have discussed how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to Ferrari - and he is expecting the regulation changes next year will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, no-one will know how the constructors are performing in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is private because the constructors wanted to understand their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the initial occasion a certain indication of comparative speed emerges.

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