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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to team orders as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked 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 great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it 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 increase and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

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

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.