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The British racing team and Formula One could do with anything decisive during this title fight between Norris and Oscar Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix fallout prompts team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was likely more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with Alain Prost at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris attempted to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers misfortune, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 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 their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – become a little bit more 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 guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will probably be welcomed as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Sporting integrity 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. Luck and destiny will have roles, yet preferable to allow 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 determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Squad viewpoint and future challenges

Nobody desires to witness a championship constantly disputed over perceived that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.