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McLaren and F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment 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 in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten 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 during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point 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 Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

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

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and withdraw from the fray.