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McLaren and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the championship battle between Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management 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 when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” commented Mercedes team principal Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions 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 see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. 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.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.