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McLaren and F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle involving Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to team orders with the championship finale kicks off at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague as he went through. That itself was a result of him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus team management

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

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