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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to team orders as the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision 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, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the conflict.