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McLaren along with F1 could do with anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel 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 great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality 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 over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

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 of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.