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McLaren along with Formula One would benefit from anything decisive during this championship battle involving Lando Norris and Piastri getting resolved through on-track action rather than without resorting to team orders with the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday.

Marina Bay race fallout leads to internal strain

After the Marina Bay event’s undoubtedly thorough and tense post-race analyses dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a fresh start. The British driver was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context regarding his retort toward his upset colleague during the previous race weekend. During an intense title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments did not go unnoticed but the incident that provoked his comment differed completely from incidents characterizing the Brazilian’s iconic battles.

“Should you criticize me for just going an inside move through an opening then you don't belong in Formula One,” stated Norris of his opening-lap attempt to pass which resulted in their vehicles making contact.

The remark seemed to echo the Brazilian legend's “Should you stop attempting for a gap that exists then you cease to be a racing driver” justification he gave to Sir Jackie Stewart after he ploughed into the French champion in Japan in 1990, securing him the title.

Parallel mindset yet distinct situations

Although the attitude remains comparable, the phrasing is where the similarities end. The late champion confessed he had no intent to allow Prost beat him through the first corner whereas Norris attempted to execute a clean overtake at the Marina Bay circuit. In fact, his maneuver was legitimate which received no penalty despite the minor contact he had with his team colleague during the pass. This incident stemmed from him clipping the Red Bull driven by Verstappen in front of him.

The Australian responded angrily 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 ought to be told to give back the place he had made. McLaren did not do so, but it was indicative that during disputes between them, each would quickly ask the squad to step in on his behalf.

Team dynamics and impartiality under scrutiny

This comes naturally of McLaren’s laudable efforts to let their drivers race against each other and strive to be as scrupulously fair. Quite apart from tying some torturous knots when establishing rules over what constitutes just or unjust – which, under these auspices, now covers bad luck, tactical calls and racing incidents like in Marina Bay – there remains the issue regarding opinions.

Most crucially to the title race, six races left, Piastri is ahead of Norris by twenty-two points, each racer's view exists as fair and at what point their perspectives might split from the team's stance. That is when their friendly rapport among them could eventually – become a little bit more the iconic rivalry.

“It’s going to come to a situation where a few points will matter,” commented Mercedes boss Wolff after Singapore. “Then they’ll start to calculate and back-calculate and I suppose 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, in what is a two-horse race, getting interesting will likely be appreciated as a track duel instead of a data-driven decision of circumstances. Especially since in Formula One the alternative perception from all this is not particularly rousing.

Honestly speaking, McLaren is taking the correct decisions for themselves and it has paid off. They clinched their 10th constructors’ title in Singapore (albeit a brilliant success overshadowed by the fuss prompted by the Norris-Piastri moment) and with Stella as team principal they possess a moral and upright commander who genuinely wants to do the right thing.

Racing purity versus squad control

However, with racers in a championship fight appealing to the team for resolutions appears unsightly. Their contest ought to be determined on track. Chance and fate will play their part, yet preferable to allow them simply go at it and observe outcomes naturally, than the impression that each contentious incident will be pored over by the team to ascertain whether they need to intervene and then cleared up later in private.

The examination will increase and each time it happens it risks possibly affecting outcomes which might prove decisive. Already, following the team's decision for position swaps in Italy because Norris had endured a delayed stop and Piastri believing he was treated unfairly with the strategy call at Hungary, where Norris won, the spectre of a fear of favouritism also emerges.

Team perspective and future challenges

No one wants to see a title endlessly debated because it may be considered that the efforts to be fair were unequal. When asked if he felt the team had acted correctly by both drivers, Piastri responded that they did, but mentioned that it was an ever-evolving approach.

“There’s been some challenging moments and we discussed a number of things,” he said post-race. “But ultimately it's educational with the whole team.”

Six meetings remain. McLaren have little room for error to do their cramming, so it may be better to just stop analyzing and step back from the conflict.