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

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

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

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially 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 from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy 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 about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.