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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the championship battle between Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

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

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas 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 during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

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 opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point 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 further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.