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The British racing team along with F1 could do with any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last 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 differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – 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 re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from 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.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

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