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The British racing team along with Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels 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 well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” 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.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, 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 these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

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