🔗 Share this article

McLaren and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to team orders with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of 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 may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.