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McLaren and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told 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 intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, 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 about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.