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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris and Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement 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, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.