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The British racing team and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to the pit wall with the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs concluded, McLaren is aiming for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels of his riposte toward his upset colleague at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes did not go unnoticed yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing Senna's iconic battles.

“If you fault me for just going an inside move through an opening then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” defence he gave to the racing knight after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. Indeed, it was a perfectly valid effort which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his team colleague as he went through. This incident stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols 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 during disputes of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness being examined

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when 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 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 become thrilling.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For spectators, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because in Formula One the alternative perception from these events is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren is taking appropriate choices for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated over perceived that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had acted correctly toward both racers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “But ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error for last-minute adjustments, thus perhaps wiser now to simply close the books and step back from the fray.