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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

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. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since for F1 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 secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires 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 acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the fray.