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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. 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 championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete 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 misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

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 an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision 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 clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against 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 play their part, 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 determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

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

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, 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 a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.