Lando Norris as Senna versus Piastri as Alain Prost? Not exactly, however the team needs to pray title is settled on track

McLaren and Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration 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 themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.