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The British racing team along with Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s 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 iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made 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 about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, 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 educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.