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The British racing team and F1 could do with anything decisive in the championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident 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 an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” justification he gave to the racing knight following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete 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 bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success 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.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title appealing to the team to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.