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The British racing team along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this title fight between Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s doubtless extensive and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to the cars colliding.

His comment seemed to echo Senna’s “If you no longer go an available gap which is there you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion in Japan back in 1990, ensuring he took the title.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

Although the attitude is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him through the first corner while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he made against his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the car driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden by team protocols for racing and Norris ought to be told to return the position he gained. The team refused, yet it demonstrated that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene on his behalf.

Squad management and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and to try to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question of perception.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. 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,” commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose the elbows are going to come out further. That's when it begins to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from these events isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren are making appropriate choices for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the controversy from the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

Yet having drivers competing for the title looking to the pitwall to decide matters appears unsightly. Their contest should be decided through racing. Luck and destiny 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 intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair had not been balanced. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri responded he believed they had, but mentioned it's a developing process.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated post-race. “However finally it’s a learning process with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.