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McLaren and Formula One would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte 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 did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to 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 gave to the racing knight following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts 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 rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he said post-race. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.