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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import 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 perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

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 squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.