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The British racing team and Formula One could do with any conclusive outcome during this championship battle involving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders with the championship finale kicks off this weekend at COTA starting Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful post-race analyses dealt with, the Woking-based squad will be hoping for a reset. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort to his aggrieved teammate during the previous race weekend. During an intense championship duel against Piastri, his reference to 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 to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries.

“If you fault me for simply attempting an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in F1,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass that led to the cars colliding.

The remark seemed to echo Senna’s “Should you stop attempting for a gap which is there then you cease to be a racing driver” defence he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart following his collision with the French champion at Suzuka back in 1990, ensuring he took the championship.

Parallel mindset but different circumstances

While the spirit remains comparable, the wording is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he never intended of letting Prost to defeat him at turn one 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 during the pass. That itself stemmed from him touching the car of Max Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily and, significantly, instantly stated that Norris's position gain seemed unjust; the implication being their collision was verboten by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to return the position he gained. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that in any cases of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to intervene in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This is part and parcel from McLaren's commendable approach to allow their racers compete one another and strive to maintain strict fairness. Quite apart from creating complex dilemmas in setting precedents about what defines fair or unfair – under these conditions, 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 is ahead of Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their opinion may diverge with that of the McLaren pitwall. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It will reach to a situation where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff post-race. “Then they’ll start to calculate and re-calculations and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to get interesting.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

For the audience, during this dual battle, increased excitement will probably be welcomed in the form of an on-track confrontation instead of a spreadsheet-based arbitration regarding incidents. Not least because in Formula One the other impression from all this isn't very inspiring.

To be fair, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their tenth team championship at Marina Bay (albeit a brilliant success diminished by the controversy from their drivers' clash) and with Stella as squad leader they possess a moral and upright commander who truly aims to do the right thing.

Racing purity against squad control

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, yet preferable to allow them just battle freely and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the team to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved later in private.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Previously, following the team's decision their drivers swap places in Italy because Norris had endured a slow pit stop and Piastri feeling he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

Nobody desires 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 believed the squad had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but noted that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“We've had several challenging moments and we discussed various aspects,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it’s a learning process for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better now to simply stop analyzing and withdraw from the fray.