Norris compared to Ayrton Senna and Piastri as Prost? Not exactly, however McLaren needs to pray title is settled through racing
McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight involving Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.
Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions
With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to 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 Senna's iconic battles.
“If you fault me for just going on the inside through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.
His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave 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
Although the attitude is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.
The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.
Squad management and impartiality being examined
This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.
Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.
“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”
Viewer desires and championship implications
For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.
To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (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 act correctly.
Racing purity versus squad control
However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.
The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.
Team perspective and upcoming tests
Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.
“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 with the whole team.”
Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.
