Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at all of the last five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the quickest lap in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who took the title advantage from Piastri by one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a different programme.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the session, spinning around through the quick descending corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, one place behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
