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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight involving Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

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 on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right by both drivers, 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 post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just close the books and step back from the fray.