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The British racing team and F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess 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 an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

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