Lando Norris Edges Out Oscar Piastri in Sao Paulo Practice
Lando Norris has beaten Oscar Piastri at all of the previous five race weekends.
Lando Norris just pipped team-mate and championship contender Oscar Piastri for the fastest time in the final moments of the practice session at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The British racer, who seized the championship lead from Piastri by one point after winning in Mexico City a fortnight back, outpaced the Melbourne-born driver by a tiny margin of 0.023secs.
Before then, Piastri had been the leading McLaren for most of the session before the sprint shootout set to begin at the evening session.
Max Verstappen, the only other driver in realistic title contention, lying with a 36-point deficit behind Norris, finished 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 Turn Four soon after starting.
The Japanese spun out over the track edges before spinning across the escape zone, and was blessed to escape with just a slight brush of the barrier.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also spun, at the final moments of the practice, rotating twice through the quick descending Mergulho turn before the final corner on to the pit straight.
Hamilton finished practice in P19, one place behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Norris and Piastri were significantly quicker of the other competitors, with the German's car in third, 0.619secs slower than the Australian's time.
Aston Martin's the Spanish driver was fourth fastest, with the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto fifth from the Mercedes of Russell and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.
