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McLaren along with F1 could do with anything decisive during this championship battle between Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to team orders with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, 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 should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the conflict.