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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track and without reference to team orders with the title run-in kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague 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 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 of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow 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 despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return 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 step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

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

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.