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McLaren along with F1 could do with anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden 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 in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads 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 among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

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

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.