Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the quickest lap in the closing stages of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Norris, who grabbed the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Australian by a mere 0.023s.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a minor contact of the wall.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the conclusion of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill corner before the final corner on to the start-finish straight.
The seven-time champion finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the remaining drivers, with the German's car P3, 0.619secs slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
