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McLaren and F1 could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Norris & Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race 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 that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality 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 tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto 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 title consequences

For spectators, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against squad control

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed 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 upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.