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The British racing team and F1 could do with anything decisive in the championship battle between Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting 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 appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

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

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.