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McLaren and F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked 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 on the inside through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. 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, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and to try 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 bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.