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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to team orders with the championship finale begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the wording 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 at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden 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 during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations 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 regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and step back from the fray.