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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders with the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach 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 includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical 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 for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

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

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.