F1 desperate for Norris and Piastri title fight to erupt

The drivers clashed in Singapore but McLaren would not want a winner crowned behind closed doors

- Giles Richards

McLaren and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

With the Singapore Grand Prix's debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fierce title fight with the Australian, in which Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna's most famous sentiments, the incident that provoked his comment was of a different nature to those that defined the Brazilian's rivalries.

"If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One," Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to the cars colliding. The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna's defence of "If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver" that he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.