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The British racing team and F1 could do with anything decisive in the championship battle involving Norris & Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without reference to team orders with the championship finale kicks off at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses concluded, the Woking-based squad is aiming for a reset. The British driver was likely fully conscious of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely to those that defined the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to overtake that led to the cars colliding.

The remark appeared to paraphrase Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into Alain Prost in Japan back in 1990, securing him the title.

Similar spirit yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he never intended to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to make his pass cleanly in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised even with the glancing blow he had with his McLaren teammate as he went through. This incident was a result of him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, instantly stated that Norris gaining the place seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols for racing and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases between them, both will promptly appeal to the team to step in in their favor.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete against each other and to try to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri leads Norris by twenty-two points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two could eventually – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff post-race. “Then calculations will begin and re-calculations 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 the audience, in what is a two-horse race, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of a track duel instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since for F1 the other impression from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for their interests and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title 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.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them simply go at it and see how fortune falls, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will intensify and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference 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 with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to see a title constantly disputed 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 said that they did, but mentioned it's a developing process.

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

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal wriggle room left to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the fray.