Lando Norris as Ayrton Senna versus Oscar Piastri as Prost? No, however the team needs to pray championship gets decided on track

The British racing team along with Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle involving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

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

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he said post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and withdraw from the conflict.