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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to team orders with the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

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

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship 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 team principal Toto 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.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship 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 upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.