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McLaren and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Lando Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to team orders with the title run-in kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake 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 stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing 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 of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

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

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the fray.