Will the McLaren team Continue Playing Fair and Halt Verstappen? - Formula 1 Questions and Answers

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

The McLaren team are well aware of the difficulty they encounter with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this year, but they see no reason to modify their strategy to running the team.

They will continue to provide their two drivers the best chance they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.

"This represents the way we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equality to our drivers."

Team principal Stella is a veteran of many championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up 17 points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren imploded.

And he lost the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when Ferrari made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the championship and enabled Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.

Stella stated after the Grand Prix in Austin: "We look at the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a call as to a team driver, this will exclusively be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, the 2010 season, 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 closed by mathematics."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Upgrades on The Current Car?

Every team this year have had to face the dilemma of 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 2026.

In F1, it's typically the situation that if a team gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a long time to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can continue for some time - consider Red Bull in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations changed.

The McLaren team started 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 diminishing returns. So when evaluating the value for money they were getting on their 2025 car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward choice to redirect attention to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since bringing their new floor and nose section at the Monza Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team principal Stella said he thought Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished following Charles Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

First of all, it's uncertain the inquiry has an completely accurate premise. It's correct that both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz had somewhat difficult opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.

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

Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now much closer than he previously. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, he was a second slower than his teammate when the Monegasque completed his pit stop, and lost thirteen seconds over the rest of the race.

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

Both Hamilton and Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to change constructors, and we have to take them at their word.

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

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

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?

Until the F1 cars run for the initial time in winter testing next year, nobody will understand how the teams are performing next year.

The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is private because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

So the two tests in Sakhir on February 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 season opener that the true and accurate situation will emerge.