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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision 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, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination 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 slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.