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McLaren along with Formula One could do with anything decisive in the championship battle involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to team orders with the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement 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, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. 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 a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely 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 that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and withdraw from the fray.