Norris Edges Out Piastri in Brazilian Practice Session
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at each of the last five race weekends.
Lando Norris narrowly beat fellow driver and title rival the Australian for the top spot in the final moments of the practice session at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by a single point after winning in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, beat the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Earlier in the session, Oscar Piastri had been the leading McLaren during the running before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the sole remaining contender in realistic title contention, lying 36 points behind behind Norris, ended up in 17th place as his Red Bull team opted for a unique setup.
Verstappen's team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was the sole competitor to crash, if briefly, when he rotated at corner four during the early running.
Tsunoda slid over the track edges before sliding over the escape zone, and was fortunate to avoid just a slight brush of the fence.
The Ferrari of the seven-time champion also spun, at the final moments of the session, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the last turn on to the main straight.
The seven-time champion ended the session in P19, just behind teammate the Monegasque driver.
The McLaren pair were significantly quicker of the rest of the field, with the German's Sauber in third, 0.619 seconds behind Piastri's pace.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Bortoleto in front of Mercedes' George Russell and Alpine's Gasly and Williams' Sainz.
