Lando Norris as Senna and Oscar Piastri likened to Prost? No, however McLaren needs to pray championship is settled through racing

The British racing team and F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this title fight involving Norris and Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely more than aware 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, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague as he went through. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull 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 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 between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes 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 to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “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 spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, 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 subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments 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 meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.