Norris compared to Ayrton Senna versus Oscar Piastri as Alain Prost? Not exactly, but the team needs to pray championship is settled through racing

The British racing team and F1 could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete 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 bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and withdraw from the fray.