🔗 Share this article

McLaren and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Lando Norris & Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed 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 intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of 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 among them could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

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

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.