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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. 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, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves 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 have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some 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. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.