Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he spun at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese slid over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's the seven-time champion also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619secs off Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto ahead of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Carlos Sainz.
