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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to team orders with the championship finale begins at the COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault 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 the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I guess aggression will increase further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation rather than a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship 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 upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.