🔗 Share this article

McLaren and Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, 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 to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

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

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

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

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

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