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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous 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 was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

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 true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, 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 execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished 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 act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.