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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to team orders as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin 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 championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

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 play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team 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. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.