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McLaren and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten 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 between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess 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, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

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