🔗 Share this article

McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight between Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads 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 their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success 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 act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly 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 discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately 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 to just close the books and withdraw from the fray.