Will McLaren Continue Maintaining Fair Play and Halt Max Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to alter their approach to managing the team.

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

"This is the manner we plan competing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team principal Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of numerous championship fights. He claimed the championship as engineer to Raikkonen in the 2007 season when the Ferrari driver recovered 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to win the title, while McLaren collapsed.

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

Stella said following the Grand Prix in Austin: "We view the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it comes to having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by mathematics."

"We rely on the experience. I can remember at least 2007, 2010, in which you reach the final Grand Prix and it's actually the third-placed driver that claims the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on The Current 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 ready as they can be for the significant rules overhaul coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team gets it wrong 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 continue for some time - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the rules changed.

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

They continued to develop it for a while, but were finding diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an easy choice to redirect attention to the following season.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated underfloor and front wing at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the pace to compete for the win in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

"We must continue maximising the car performance and continue delivering good race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a Grand Prix like Baku, we failed to optimize the car's potential and we didn't deliver a flawless performance."

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

Driver Transfers: How Difficult Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely correct basis. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the season, in varying manners, and that they are now faring much better.

Carlos Sainz and Albon currently appear very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.

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

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

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second behind his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the race.

Looking back, Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's difficult to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.

Hamilton would not claim even now that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is expecting the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these venturi cars.

There is a great deal for a racing driver to get their head around when they switch teams, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the start of the 2023 when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect most in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know The Coming Season's Competitive Order?

Before the cars are driven for the initial time in pre-season testing next season, nobody will understand how the teams are looking in the upcoming season.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors preferred to understand their initial track time of the power unit changes without the prying eyes of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on 11-13 and February 18-20 will be the initial occasion a certain sense of relative performance becomes apparent.

But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will emerge.