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McLaren and F1 could do with anything decisive in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to team orders as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Toto 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 starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success 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 do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

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

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.