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McLaren and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

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

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

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 to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss 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 get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene 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 their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.