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McLaren and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists 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 could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, 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 regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.