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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. 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. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared 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 in any cases between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and step back from the fray.