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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight involving Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, 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 Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, 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 squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated 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 by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.