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McLaren and F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules 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 intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their perspectives might split 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 will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

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. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective 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. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.