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The British racing team and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols 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 between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences 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 twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling 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

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

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

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.