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McLaren along with F1 could do with anything decisive in the title fight between Lando Norris & Piastri getting resolved through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall with the championship finale begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas starting Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath leads to team tensions

After the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly more than aware about the historical parallels regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. During an intense title fight against Piastri, his reference to a famous Senna well-known quotes was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined Senna's great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move of a big gap then you should not be in F1,” Norris said of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “If you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the wording is where the similarities end. Senna later admitted he had no intent of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake in Singapore. In fact, it was a perfectly valid effort that went unpenalised despite the minor contact he had with his McLaren teammate during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the car driven by Verstappen in front of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; suggesting that their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the position he gained. The team refused, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, both will promptly appeal the squad to step in on his behalf.

Squad management and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to let their drivers race one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Aside from creating complex dilemmas when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now includes misfortune, strategy and racing incidents such as in Singapore – there remains the issue of perception.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, there is what each driver perceives on fairness and when their opinion may diverge from the team's stance. Which is when their friendly rapport between the two may – finally – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I guess the elbows are going to come out a bit more. That's when it begins to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and title consequences

For the audience, during this dual battle, getting interesting will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation rather than a spreadsheet-based arbitration of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this isn't very inspiring.

Honestly speaking, McLaren are making the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They secured their tenth team championship in Singapore (though a great achievement diminished by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and in Andrea Stella as team principal they have an ethical and upright commander who truly aims to act correctly.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions is unedifying. Their contest should be decided on track. Luck and destiny will play their part, but better to let them just battle freely and see how fortune falls, rather than the sense that each contentious incident will be pored over by the squad to ascertain whether intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The scrutiny will increase and each time it happens it is in danger of potentially making a difference which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy due to Norris experiencing a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he was treated unfairly with the strategy call in Budapest, where Norris won, the shadow of concern of favouritism also looms.

Team perspective and upcoming tests

Nobody desires to see a title constantly disputed because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he believed the squad had managed to do right toward both racers, Piastri said that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some difficult situations and we’ve spoken about various aspects,” he stated post-race. “But ultimately it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and step back from the fray.