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McLaren and F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to team orders with the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

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 at turn one whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

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

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the conflict.