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McLaren along with Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight involving Norris and Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix 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. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of 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 their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. 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 diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

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