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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to team orders as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat 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 made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel 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 just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the fray.