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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Norris and Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

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

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with 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, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads 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 among them could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

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