Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from his teammate by just one point after his victory in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before sprint qualifying due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in P17 as his team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate the Japanese driver was the only driver to crash, albeit lightly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
The Japanese lost control over the track edges before sliding over the gravel trap, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the very end of the session, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner before the final bend on to the pit straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind team-mate the Monegasque driver.
Norris and Piastri were well clear of the remaining drivers, with the German's car third fastest, over half a second behind the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
