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The British racing team and F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders as the title run-in kicks off at the COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” 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 fray.