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McLaren and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight involving Norris & Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders as the title run-in begins at the COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and tense post-race analyses concluded, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him at turn one while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty despite the minor contact he made against his team colleague during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told 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 to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of 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 their friendly rapport between the two could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

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

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the other impression from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether intervention is needed and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to witness a championship endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if 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’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just close the books and step back from the conflict.