Norris as Senna versus Piastri as Prost? Not exactly, but McLaren must hope championship is settled on track

The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

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 the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

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