Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the past five race weekends.
The McLaren driver narrowly beat team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after taking the win in Mexico City recently, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren throughout the hour before sprint qualifying scheduled for the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in the points battle, lying 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team followed a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he spun at the fourth corner soon after starting.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the run-off area, and was lucky to get away with just a minor contact of the fence.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, spinning around through the quick descending Mergulho turn leading to the final corner on to the main straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th place, trailing teammate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were far ahead of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car third fastest, over half a second behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
