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McLaren and Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to team orders with the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.