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The British racing team and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle involving Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. 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, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

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

To be fair, 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 fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” 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, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.