Norris compared to Senna and Oscar Piastri as Prost? No, however McLaren needs to pray title is settled through racing

The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris & Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to the pit wall as the championship finale begins at the COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols 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, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.