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The British racing team and Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle between Norris and Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask to the team to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Of most import to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads 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 the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations 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 the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply close the books and step back from the conflict.