🔗 Share this article

The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels 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 which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague as he went through. That itself was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, 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 between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if 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 difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.