Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who grabbed the title advantage from Piastri by one point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, outpaced the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Before then, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout due at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his Red Bull team opted for a alternative strategy.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he spun at corner four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the exit kerbs before rotating through the escape zone, and was fortunate to get away with just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, 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 finished practice in 19th place, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber P3, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth quickest, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
