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Were it not already a sweltering sauna in Singapore, the increasing intensity of this year's F1 world championship would be enough to make even the toughest driver wilt. Withstanding the stress may prove the deciding factor between the team's Norris and Oscar Piastri as the title battle intensifies with every race.

This Championship Battle Is Extremely Close

Including this weekend's meeting in Marina Bay, seven grands prix remain and the title race is extremely tight. Piastri leads his British rival by twenty-five points. Both are free to race each other and with the Red Bull driver still a distant sixty-nine in arrears, it is a direct contest, with very little separating between them.

Drawing from Past Champions

Formula One's most experienced and successful competitors know this situation very clearly. In 2007, when Hamilton narrowly missed securing the title in the final race at Interlagos in his debut season, it showed him the unique challenge of a title tilt.

“I remember the lead-up to those races at the end and the pressure was present,” he said. “That was not needed. Had I known then what I understand today, I would have comfortably secured that championship, I think. I have learned not to add stress that’s unnecessary.”

Welcome the Cauldron

Step forward, Norris and Piastri, to the cauldron. The upper hand thus far has swung from one to the other. Norris has five wins to Oscar's seven and the duo have scarcely missed the podium in a McLaren car that has been the class of the field. The Australian has been more consistent, with his British rival finding it hard to adjust to a lack of feel for grip from the front tires. Even so, they have dominated, the gap separating them often just which could deliver flawlessly, across Saturday sessions and the race.

Expensive Mistakes for Lando

In this aspect the British driver has been found wanting, small errors were costly in Shanghai, more so after a disappointing Saturday in Sakhir and even more troubling when surrendering the points advantage after hitting the barriers in qualifying in Jeddah. Then, most critically, too aggressive in Montreal he hit his partner and retired, an enormous setback.

Oscar's Consistency and Small Slip-ups

Piastri, notably in just his third year in Formula One, has been more at ease. 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 unexpected downpour. Subsequently, the Australian was also overtaken and passed by an opportunistic Max at Emilia-Romagna, while his mistake and penalty for “erratic braking” under the safety car at the British Grand Prix cost him a probable victory.

Recent Struggles in Azerbaijan

Yet, these were minor hiccups against something of a debacle at the last round in Azerbaijan. In Baku, the McLaren driver crashed out in the qualifying session putting him ninth on the grid, only to compound it with a jump start, the car entering anti-stall and dropping him to the rear of the pack.

Chasing places on the opening lap, he misjudged the grip and ended in the barriers, an uncharacteristic series of mistakes that he admitted he could ill afford in this weekend's race.

“Baku was quite a good reminder of how quickly everything can turn around,” he said. “There are takeaways about how I can deal with that better and insights on risk I suppose is the best way to put it. There's nothing revolutionary that needs to be altered or that I am going to change.”

Gaining from History

The pair are, for all their ability, still refining their skills in Formula One, a journey well trodden by other drivers on the grid. The opening years of Lewis's time in F1 were outstanding, but he also committed his share of mistakes. The McLaren driver could learn of Sakhir in 2008, the year the seven-time champion won his maiden championship but which was marked by other mistakes as he was engaged in an close battle with Felipe Massa.

On the starting grid in Manama he had not managed to properly configure the launch control on his McLaren and it entered anti-stall, relegating him to the back. Shortly afterwards, trying to regain positions, he touched the back of Fernando Alonso's Renault and had to make a stop with a broken nose. He finished thirteenth after a grand prix he described as “a disaster”.

Max's Initial Development

In the same way Verstappen's first years were marked by errors as he learned his craft. After a expensive incident in Monte Carlo in 2018 then team principal the Red Bull chief openly called for his racer to show more discipline.

Max, too, took it on board, the waywardness all but gone when he started claiming titles. “This has just been character-building,” he remarked at the moment. “In my career there have been times of character-building and this was another step. Sometimes, it is unpleasant but sometimes you need it.”

Final Observations

The McLaren teammates are not yet at the level of the multiple champions yet but they are facing the same pressure and absorbing the same lessons. As the legendary driver noted, the first title is always the hardest. Closing this championship out is the greatest test of their professional lives and will likely be decided by the one who can most effectively manage the pressure.