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McLaren and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Lando Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to team orders as the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.