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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle between Norris & Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver 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, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going 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 seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he provided to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague as he went through. That itself was a result of him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing 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, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness 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 creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for themselves with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he said after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

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