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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, 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 allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.