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McLaren and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris & Piastri being decided through on-track action and without resorting to team orders as the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow Prost beat him at turn one whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside 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 like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two 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 may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, 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 these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity versus team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. Questioned whether he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately 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.