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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in begins this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

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

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

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 diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, 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 squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.