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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders as the title run-in begins at the COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort 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 Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations 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, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify 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 at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he said 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 to just close the books and withdraw from the fray.