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McLaren and F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him touching the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

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

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several 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. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.