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The British racing team along with F1 could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris 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 which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, 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 with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. 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 squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, 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 various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and step back from the conflict.