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McLaren and F1 could do with anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale kicks off at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised 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 driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.