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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Norris & Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.