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If it weren't already a sweltering sauna in the Marina Bay circuit, the growing pressure of this season's F1 world championship would be sufficient to make even the toughest driver wilt. Handling the pressure may prove the deciding factor between the team's Norris and Oscar Piastri as the championship contest intensifies with every race.

This Championship Battle Is Finely Poised

Including this round's meeting in Marina Bay, seven races remain and the championship is finely poised. Piastri is ahead of his teammate by 25 points. Each are allowed to compete against one another and with the Red Bull driver still a distant sixty-nine points behind, it is a direct contest, with little to choose the two McLaren drivers.

Learning from Previous Champions

F1's most seasoned and successful competitors are familiar with this scenario all too well. In 2007, when Hamilton just failed to win securing the championship in the last grand prix at Brazil in his debut season, it taught him the distinct pressure of a championship fight.

“I remember the lead-up to those events at the conclusion and the stress was there,” he said. “That was unnecessary. If I knew then what I understand today, I would have comfortably secured that title, I think. I have learned not to add pressure that’s unneeded.”

Step Into the Cauldron

Welcome then, the McLaren duo, to the intense environment. The upper hand thus far has shifted between them. Lando has five victories to Oscar's seven wins and the pair have barely been off the podium in a McLaren that has been the class of the field. Piastri has been more consistent, with his teammate finding it hard to adjust to a lack of feel for grip from the front tires. Nonetheless, they have dominated, the difference separating them often just which could deliver perfectly, across qualifying and the race.

Expensive Errors for Norris

In this aspect Norris has been found wanting, small errors were damaging in Shanghai, especially after a poor qualifying in Bahrain and even more troubling when surrendering the championship lead after hitting the barriers in qualifying in Saudi Arabia. Then, most critically, too aggressive in Canada he collided with his partner and retired, an enormous setback.

Oscar's Steadiness and Minor Slip-ups

Piastri, especially in just his third year in Formula One, has been more comfortable. For some time sliding off at the first race in the wet in Albert Park was his only fault and one which was excusable in the sudden rain. Subsequently, the Melbourne native was also overtaken and surpassed by an opportunistic Max at Emilia-Romagna, while his mistake and sanction for “erratic braking” under the safety car at Silverstone cost him a likely win.

Latest Struggles in Baku

Yet, these were minor hiccups against a major incident at the previous race in Baku. In Azerbaijan, Piastri crashed out in the qualifying session putting him ninth on the grid, only to follow it with a false start, the car going into anti-stall mode and sending him to the back of the field.

Chasing places on the opening lap, he misjudged the traction and finished in the barriers, an uncharacteristic sequence of errors that he admitted he could ill afford in Singapore.

“Baku was quite a good reminder of how rapidly things can turn around,” he commented. “There's some lessons about how I can handle that better and insights on risk I guess is the most accurate description to put it. There's nothing revolutionary that require to change or that I am going to adjust.”

Gaining from History

The pair are, for all their talent, still refining their skills in F1, a journey well trodden by other drivers on the grid. The early stages of Lewis's time in F1 were exceptional, but he also made his share of errors. The McLaren driver could take note of Sakhir in 2008, the year the multiple title winner took his first title but which was characterized by other mistakes as he was engaged in an intense fight with his Ferrari rival.

On the starting grid in Bahrain he had failed to properly configure the launch control on his McLaren and it entered anti-stall, dropping him down the grid. Shortly afterwards, chasing places, he clipped the rear of the Renault driver's Renault and had to pit with a damaged front wing. He finished thirteenth after a race he called as “a disaster”.

Max's Early Career

In the same way Verstappen's first years were marked by misjudgments as he learned his craft. After a expensive incident in Monaco in 2018 then boss Christian Horner openly called for his driver to show greater control.

Max, also, took it on board, the inconsistency almost entirely eliminated when he began winning titles. “This has just been character-building,” he remarked at the moment. “In my career there have been periods of personal growth and this was one more stage. Sometimes, it is not enjoyable but sometimes you require it.”

Final Thoughts

The McLaren teammates are not yet at the level of the multiple champions yet but they are under the identical stress and learning the same lessons. As Niki Lauda noted, the first title is invariably the most difficult. Closing this one out is the greatest test of their professional lives and will likely be decided by the one who can best handle the pressure.