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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots 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 remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

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

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.