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The British racing team along with F1 could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives 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 minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and withdraw from the conflict.