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The British racing team along with F1 could do with any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident was a result of 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”; the implication being 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 during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to determine if they need to intervene 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, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

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

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.