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McLaren and F1 could do with anything decisive during this championship battle involving Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren is aiming 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. During an intense championship duel with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap which is there then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“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 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 as a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, 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 overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the conflict.