Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Brazilian Practice
Lando Norris has outperformed his teammate at each of the past five grands prix.
Lando Norris just pipped fellow driver and championship contender the Australian for the top spot in the closing stages of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the title advantage from Piastri by just one point after his victory in Mexico City two weeks ago, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by 0.023 seconds.
Until that point, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout scheduled for 18:30 GMT.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in the points battle, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, was classified in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a different programme.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver to go off, if briefly, when he spun at corner four early in the session.
Tsunoda spun out over the curbs on exit before sliding over the gravel trap, and was fortunate to get away with just a light touch of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also lost it, at the very end of the session, rotating twice through the fast downhill corner leading to the final bend on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in 19th, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the remaining drivers, with Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber third fastest, over half a second off the Australian's time.
The Aston Martin of the Spanish driver was in fourth, with Sauber's Bortoleto in front of the Mercedes of George Russell and the Alpine of Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
