Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the points lead from Piastri by just 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.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to crash, though minor, when he lost control at the fourth corner during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the exit kerbs before spinning across the run-off area, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the barrier.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the quick descending Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, just behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
