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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without resorting to team orders with the title run-in begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

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

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and withdraw from the conflict.