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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive in the championship battle involving Norris & Piastri being decided on the track rather than without reference to team orders as the championship finale begins at the COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race aftermath prompts internal strain

With the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. Norris was likely more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort toward his upset colleague at the last race weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement was of an entirely different nature from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” Norris said regarding his first-lap move to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

His comment appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion at Suzuka in 1990, securing him the championship.

Similar spirit but different circumstances

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost beat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. Indeed, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, immediately declared that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being the two teammates clashing was verboten under McLaren’s rules of engagement and Norris ought to be told to return the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask to the team to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import to the title race, with six meetings remaining, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives as fair and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I guess aggression will increase a bit more. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For spectators, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Not least because for F1 the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

To be fair, McLaren are making the correct decisions for their interests with successful results. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Sporting integrity against team management

Yet having drivers in a championship fight looking to the pitwall for resolutions appears unsightly. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that every disputed moment will be pored over by the team to determine if they need to intervene and then cleared up afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, after the team made for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a delayed stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts had not been balanced. Questioned whether he believed the squad had managed to do right by both drivers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, thus perhaps wiser to just stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.