Norris as Senna and Oscar Piastri likened to Prost? No, however McLaren needs to pray championship is settled on track

McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in 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 racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. 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. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments 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 to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.