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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong 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 “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him touching the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in 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 in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase with every occurrence it risks 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 feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

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.