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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the title fight between Norris and Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to the pit wall with the title run-in kicks off this weekend at COTA on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move of a big gap then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap that exists then you cease to be a true racer” defence he provided to the racing knight after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent of letting Prost beat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – turn somewhat into Senna-Prost.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as an on-track confrontation instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They secured their 10th constructors’ title at Marina Bay (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined through racing. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will intensify and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern about bias also looms.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the conflict.