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The British racing team along with Formula One could do with anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics 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 be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.