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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow 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 determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.