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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Norris & Piastri being decided on the track rather than without resorting to team orders as the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.