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The British racing team along with Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you should not be in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires 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. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.