Lando Norris Tops Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has outscored his teammate at each of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris edged out team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Norris, who took the championship lead from his teammate by one point after taking the win in the Mexican Grand Prix a fortnight back, beat the Australian by 0.023 seconds.
Earlier in the session, Piastri had been the fastest McLaren driver throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
Max Verstappen, the other racer in realistic title contention, sitting 36 points behind Norris, finished in 17th place as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to have an incident, albeit lightly, when he lost control at Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese lost control over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a spin, at the very end of the practice, rotating twice through the high-speed Mergulho corner approaching the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion wrapped up in P19, one place behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with Nico Hulkenberg's car in third, 0.619 seconds off Piastri's best.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with the Sauber of Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
