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McLaren and F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Norris & Piastri being decided on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

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 opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived 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 it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.