🔗 Share this article

The British racing team and F1 could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle involving Norris & Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to team orders with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed 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 act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident 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 possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

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