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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

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