Can McLaren Keep Playing Fair and Stop Max Verstappen? - F1 Questions and Answers
Red Bull's driver Max Verstappen closed the difference in the drivers' championship by securing victory in both the sprint and feature races at the US Grand Prix.
Lando Norris placed in second position on Sunday to narrow Oscar Piastri's points advantage to 14 points with five Grands Prix remaining.
Four-time championship winner Max Verstappen is now only forty points behind Piastri heading into this upcoming Mexican Grand Prix.
Do McLaren Accept Reality of F1 - That to Win, You Can't Always Play Fair?
McLaren are fully conscious of the obstacle they confront with Verstappen and Red Bull in the drivers' championship this year, but they don't believe to change their approach to managing the team.
They will continue to provide their two drivers the optimal opportunity they can and operate the team on a basis of equity and equanimity.
"This is the way we intend competing. This is the philosophy in which we tackle racing, and we aim to remain equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."
Team boss Stella is a veteran of numerous championship fights. He claimed the title as race engineer to Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari driver made up 17 points under the previous points system in two Grands Prix to secure the title, while McLaren collapsed.
And he missed out on the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team made errors in their race strategy at the last Grand Prix of the season and enabled Vettel and Red Bull to snatch the title from their grasp.
Stella commented after the race in Austin: "We look at the next five races as chances to increase the gap on Verstappen. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a driver, this will only be determined by mathematics."
"We rely on the past experience. I can recall at least 2007, 2010, 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 the calculations."
What Prompted McLaren to Cease Development on This Year's Car?
All teams this year have had to face the dilemma of for how long to focus on their 2025 season car while also ensuring they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for 2026.
In Formula 1, it's usually the situation that if a constructor gets it wrong at the start of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to catch up. And if they succeed, that benefit can continue for some time - consider the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the last time the rules were modified.
The McLaren team began this year with the best car, after investing a lot of technical development into their 2025 design.
They continued to develop it for a while, but were experiencing diminishing returns. So when evaluating the bang for buck they were achieving on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to the following season.
The Red Bull team have closed the gap since introducing their new underfloor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren car remains competitive - team boss Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to compete for the victory in Austin had he not finished behind Charles Leclerc.
"We must continue maximising the performance and keep delivering strong race weekends. And from this perspective, if you consider a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute 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 placed in someone else's hands."
Driver Transfers: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?
First of all, I'm not sure the question has an completely correct premise. It's correct that each of Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly sticky opening phases of the championship, in varying manners, and that they are currently performing significantly improved.
Carlos Sainz and Albon do now appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "match" of Leclerc - or not consistently, at least.
Lewis Hamilton has failed to outperform Charles Leclerc frequently at all this year, either in qualifying or Grand Prix.
He is now significantly nearer than he was. He is regularly qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying battles it's 4-2 to Leclerc since the mid-season break.
This previous weekend in Austin, on one of Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a second slower than Leclerc when the Monaco driver made his tire change, and dropped thirteen seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.
Looking back, Leclerc was on the best strategy. Nevertheless, over the championship, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has hasn't been the better Ferrari driver this season.
Each of Hamilton and Sainz have talked about how challenging it is to switch teams, and we have to take them at their word.
Hamilton would not say even currently that he was fully adapted to the Ferrari car - and he is hoping the new rules next season will suit him; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.
There is a lot for a driver to understand and adapt to when they change constructors, as Hamilton has described repeatedly this year. But not every driver struggle in this manner.
Fernando Alonso, for example, was on it from the beginning of the 2023 season when he transferred to Aston Martin. And would Verstappen face challenges if he switched teams? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would expect not.
When Will We Know Next Year's Team Performance?
Until the F1 cars are driven for the first time in winter testing next year, no-one will know how the constructors are looking next year.
The initial session, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the constructors preferred to understand their first running of the power unit changes without the scrutiny of the press.
So the pair of sessions in Bahrain on 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of indication of relative performance becomes apparent.
But, as ever, it's not until the first race that the complete and precise situation will become clear.