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The British racing team along with F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment 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 should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and withdraw from the conflict.