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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious 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, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

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

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy 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 about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply close the books and withdraw from the fray.