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The British racing team and F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

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

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, 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 with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

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

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall 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 observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and step back from the fray.