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McLaren along with F1 would benefit from anything decisive in the title fight involving Lando Norris and Piastri being decided through on-track action and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins this weekend at Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Singapore Grand Prix aftermath prompts team tensions

With the Singapore Grand Prix’s undoubtedly thorough and stressful debriefs dealt with, McLaren is aiming for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly fully conscious about the historical parallels of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate during the previous grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested championship duel against Piastri, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s well-known quotes did not go unnoticed but the incident which triggered his statement differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris regarding his first-lap move to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

His comment appeared to paraphrase the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting an available gap that exists you are no longer a true racer” defence he provided to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan back in 1990, securing him the championship.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

While the spirit is similar, the phrasing marks where parallels stop. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost to defeat him at turn one while Norris did try to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty even with the glancing blow he made against his team colleague during the pass. This incident was a result of him touching the Red Bull of Max Verstappen ahead of him.

Piastri reacted furiously and, notably, immediately declared that Norris's position gain was “unfair”; suggesting that the two teammates clashing was forbidden by team protocols of engagement and Norris should be instructed to give back the place he had made. The team refused, but it was indicative that during disputes of contention, each would quickly ask the squad to step in in their favor.

Team dynamics and fairness under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to allow their racers compete against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Aside from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules about what defines just or unjust – under these conditions, now includes bad luck, strategy and on-track occurrences like in Marina Bay – there is the question regarding opinions.

Of most import for the championship, with six meetings remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. Which is when the amicable relationship between the two may – finally – turn somewhat into the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come a point where minor points count,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose aggression will increase further. That’s when it starts to become thrilling.”

Audience expectations and championship implications

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 other impression 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 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (though a great achievement overshadowed by the fuss prompted by their drivers' clash) and with Stella as team principal they have an ethical and principled leader who genuinely wants to act correctly.

Racing purity against team management

However, with racers competing for the title looking to the pitwall for resolutions is unedifying. Their competition ought to be determined on track. Luck and destiny will have roles, but better to let them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be analyzed intensely by the squad to determine if intervention is needed and subsequently resolved afterwards behind closed doors.

The examination will increase with every occurrence it risks possibly affecting outcomes that could be critical. Already, after the team made their drivers swap places at Monza because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he had been hard done by regarding tactics in Budapest, where Norris triumphed, the spectre of a fear about bias also looms.

Squad viewpoint and upcoming tests

No one wants to witness a championship endlessly debated because it may be considered that fairness attempts were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had managed to do right 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’ve spoken about a number of things,” he stated after Singapore. “However finally it's educational for the entire squad.”

Six meetings remain. The team has minimal room for error for last-minute adjustments, so it may be better to just close the books and withdraw from the fray.