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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight involving Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening 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 the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by 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 forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to intervene in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “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 championship implications

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that each contentious incident 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 and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.