🔗 Share this article

McLaren and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight between Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said 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 stated post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.