Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by just one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix recently, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver for most of the session before the sprint shootout due at 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind Norris, ended up in 17th position as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to have an incident, if briefly, when he lost control at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda spun out over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to get away with just a light touch of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the fast downhill Mergulho corner approaching the final corner on to the pit straight.
The veteran wrapped up in 19th, trailing team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were well clear of the other competitors, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
