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McLaren along with F1 could do with any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Lando Norris & Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to team orders as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship 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 principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational 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.