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The British racing team and F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight involving Lando Norris & Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders with the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath leads to internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing 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. 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. This incident stemmed from him clipping the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place was “unfair”; the implication being their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import 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 from the team's stance. That is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

Yet having drivers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.