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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside 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 Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, 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. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident 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 possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.