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The British racing team along with F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management 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 be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured 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 about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.