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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to team orders with the title run-in kicks off at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try 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 made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, 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 ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments 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 room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.