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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to team orders with the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate 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 pored over by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

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