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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the title fight between Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden 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 of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “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 begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the fray.