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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. 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 stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point 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 will reach a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters 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 every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.