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

Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the obstacle they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the championship battle this season, 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 operate the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This is the manner we intend competing. This is the way in which we tackle competition, and we aim to stay fair, and we want to maintain equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Andrea Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."

"We lean on the past experience. I can remember at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's in fact the [driver in] third [place] that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Cease Upgrades on The Current Car?

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

In F1, it's usually the situation that if a team makes mistakes at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they succeed, that benefit can last for a while - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations changed.

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

They continued to improve it for a while, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the bang for buck they were getting on their 2025 season car compared to 2026, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have caught up since introducing their new floor and front wing at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to challenge for the win in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

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

"Therefore we have a significant opportunity, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our hands. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

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

Sainz and Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

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

He is currently significantly nearer than he was. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Lewis Hamilton's preferred circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the best race strategy. Regardless, over the championship, and even currently, it's difficult to argue that on average Charles Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari racer this year.

Both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to accept their statements.

Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was completely adjusted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a driver to understand and adapt to when they switch teams, as Hamilton has described many times this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he switched teams? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, nobody will know how the teams are performing in the upcoming season.

The first test, in Barcelona on 26-30 January, is private because the teams preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the first time some kind of indication of comparative speed becomes apparent.

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