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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the championship battle between Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, 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 iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to pass that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists on fairness and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It will reach a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since in Formula One the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, 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 in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. 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 challenging moments and we’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six races stay. McLaren have little wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.