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The British racing team along with F1 would benefit from any conclusive outcome in the title fight involving Norris & Piastri being decided on the track and without resorting to team orders as the championship finale begins at the Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes was lost on no one yet the occurrence which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to their vehicles making contact.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap which is there you are no longer a racing driver” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended to allow 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 had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. That itself stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that their collision was forbidden under McLaren’s rules for racing and Norris ought to be told to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and impartiality being examined

This is part and parcel of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race one another and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes fair or unfair – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences such as in Singapore – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and when their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more Senna-Prost.

“It will reach to a situation where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Viewer desires and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will likely be appreciated in the form of a track duel instead of a data-driven decision regarding incidents. Especially since for F1 the other impression from these events is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they possess a moral and principled leader who truly aims to act correctly.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall to decide matters is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined through racing. Chance and fate will have roles, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if they need to intervene and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will intensify with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Previously, following the team's decision for position swaps at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said he believed they had, but noted it's a developing process.

“We've had several difficult situations and we discussed various aspects,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six races stay. The team has minimal wriggle room left for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.