Lando Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed Oscar Piastri at all of the past five grands prix.
The McLaren driver edged out fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the fastest time in the dying seconds of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by a single point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, topped the Melbourne-born driver by a mere 0.023s.
Until that point, Piastri had been the quickest of the McLaren pair throughout the hour before the sprint shootout scheduled for 6:30 PM GMT.
The Red Bull star, the other racer in realistic title contention, trailing 36 points behind Norris, finished in P17 as his team ran a unique setup.
His teammate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to go off, albeit lightly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda lost control over the exit kerbs before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a minor contact of the wall.
The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the very end of the practice, turning around through the fast downhill Mergulho corner leading to the last turn on to the main straight.
The veteran ended the session in P19, trailing teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren drivers were well clear of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and the Williams of Sainz.
