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

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

McLaren are fully conscious of the difficulty they face with Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this season, but they don't believe to change their strategy to managing the team.

They will continue to give their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a basis of equity and balance.

"This is the way we intend racing. This is the way in which we tackle racing, and we want to stay equitable, and we intend to maintain equality to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a seasoned expert of many title battles. He won the championship as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer made up seventeen points under the previous points system in two races to secure the championship, while the McLaren team imploded.

And he missed out on the title as engineer to Fernando Alonso in 2010, when Ferrari messed up their strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and allowed Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from their grasp.

Andrea Stella said after 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 decision as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics."

"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you reach the last race and it's in fact the third-placed driver that claims the title. So we're not going to make decisions unless this is closed by mathematics."

Why Did McLaren Stop Development on The Current Car?

All teams 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 major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a constructor 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 last for a while - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the regulations were modified.

McLaren began this year with the fastest car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop 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 versus 2026, it became an easy decision to redirect attention to next year.

Red Bull have closed the gap since bringing their updated floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car stays competitive - team boss Andrea Stella said he thought Norris had the pace to challenge for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Leclerc.

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

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

Team Changes: How Difficult Is It to Change Constructors?

Initially, it's uncertain the inquiry has an entirely correct basis. It's true that both Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the season, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Carlos Sainz and Albon do now look very even. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is currently the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, 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 previously. He is regularly setting times within a small fraction of a second of Leclerc, but in qualifying battles it's four-two to Charles Leclerc since the summer break.

This previous weekend in Texas, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver completed his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the rest of the race.

In hindsight, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Regardless, over the season, and even currently, it's difficult to claim that on balance Leclerc has hasn't been the superior Ferrari driver this year.

Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about 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 year will benefit his driving style; he has never particularly liked these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a great deal for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this season. But not all struggle in this manner.

Alonso, for instance, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Verstappen struggle if he changed constructors? I suspect the majority in F1 would expect not.

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

Until the cars run for the first time in winter testing next season, no-one will understand how the constructors are performing next year.

The first test, in Barcelona on January 26-30, is behind closed doors because the constructors wanted to get their heads around their initial track time of the new engines without the scrutiny of the media.

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

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