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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders with the title run-in begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. 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 touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside 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 such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow 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 intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.