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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming 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 championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize 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 pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted 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 had with his team colleague as he went through. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.