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McLaren and F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome during this championship battle involving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without resorting to the pit wall with the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked a famous Senna most famous sentiments was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to overtake which resulted in the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, 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 was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to return the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made for position swaps at Monza due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the shadow of concern about bias also emerges.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “However finally 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.