Norris Edges Out Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the previous five race weekends.
The McLaren driver edged out 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 seized the championship lead from his teammate by one point after winning in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout set to begin at 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the sole remaining contender in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in P17 as his Red Bull team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he rotated at the fourth corner early in the session.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the run-off area, and was lucky to escape with just a light touch of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also lost it, at the very end of the practice, spinning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the pit straight.
The veteran ended the session in 19th place, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren drivers were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's Sauber P3, over half a second slower than Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
